Preps: Buchanan powers to another section baseball title; Clovis North wins first in softball
.jpeg "Buchanan High defeated Liberty-Bakersfield 17-4 to win its seventh section title on Friday, June 18, 2021.")
It was home run derby time Friday night at Buchanan High.
The Bears came out swinging, hammering five homers in a 17-4 win over Liberty-Bakersfield to win their seventh Central Section Division I baseball championship.
The brutally hot weather conditions in the central San Joaquin Valley didn’t faze the Bears, as they got started early with back-to-back home runs by Drew Smith and Temo Becerra in the second inning.
Buchanan wasn’t finished, not even in that inning.
Max Bernal hit a three-run home run in the second to make it 7-0.
More long balls? You bet.
Becerra followed up in the third with a three-run home run as Buchanan pushed the lead to 14-3.
Evan Wallace capped the scoring, hitting the Bears’ fifth home run in the sixth.
“I can’t tell you what a difference it makes when you have 29 guys and none of them cares who gets the credit,” Buchanan coach Brad Fontes said. “The way we practice ... we need all 29 guys and unfortunately not everyone gets to play but the guys settled into their roles and busted their butts during practice and allowed us to get better on a daily basis. The guys that were playing appreciated those guys that weren’t. We just came together.
“I say about two months ago, you can really see it and we all got on the same page and we’re all pulling the rope on the same day and direction. We kind of vaulted from there.”
Other baseball finals, schedule:
Division II — No. 7 Madera 9, No. 1 Arroyo Grande 1: Nathan Palacioz pitched a two-hitter and Izaak Murillo drove in two runs, giving the Coyotes their first section title since 2013.
Division III — No. 4 Ridgeview 3, No. 2 Kerman 2: The Wolf Pack scored a run in the seventh inning and held on for the win. Rafael Mendoza drove in a run for the Lions.
Division IV — No. 2 Bakersfield Christian 14, No. 8 Santa Maria 6: It is the first section title for the Eagles baseball team since 2011.
Division V — No. 3 Washington Union 5, No. 1 Minarets 3: Kyle Plaza struck out five and drove in a run, leading the Panthers to a title. Victor Gutierrez also drove in a run for Washington Union.
Division VI — No. 1 Kennedy 19, No. 3 Fresno Christian 0: The Thunderbirds scored six runs in the first inning.
Softball: Clovis North wins title
Courtney Dale had a lot of success as a player, starring first at Bullard High before playing at UCLA.
It is no surprise she is adding to that legacy as the coach of the Clovis North softball program.
Broncos pitcher Ryan Maddox pitched a three-hitter, striking out 10, and helped her cause by driving in two runs — one of those on a solo home run in the third — to lead top-seeded Clovis North to a 6-3 win over No. 3 Clovis for the Central Section Division I championship on Thursday.
The win gives the Broncos their first section softball title.
“It’s definitely exciting for our school and community,” Dale said Friday. “The girls that are playing now in high school, I started coaching them when they were in fifth or sixth grade and down to elementary level. Watching them grow up and go through elementary school and then at Granite Ridge on to Clovis North and achieve at the level they’re competing at has been very fulfilling.”
Dale said she told her team she wanted them to get better by at least “1%” every day. The Broncos took the message to heart, especially the sophomore Maddox.
Other players that contributed were Kiara Sipe (two RBIs) and Alexis DeBoer — daughter of Fresno State football coach Kalen DeBoer — who homered to center field.
Dale’s other season-long message?
“Just be resilient and control what you can,” she said. “When we got to practice, we set our goals and obviously winning the Valley championship was our top goal. The girls came out and practiced hard and Ryan led us in the circle and offensively and she did an amazing job for us this year.”
Clovis North’s roster: Kiara Sipe, Mia Antonio, Cam Pigott, Naleya Bridges, Addison Werth, Ryan Maddox, Claire Jansen, Marissa Lucas, Emma Blea, Emma Bumatay, Jackie Barco, Alexis DeBoer, Lina Sanchez
Other softball finals
Division II — No. 1 Dinuba 2, No. 3 Selma 0: Faith Hernandez hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first, all that the Emperors would need to secure the title.
Division III — No. 1 Tulare Union 4, No. 3 Liberty-Madera Ranchos 0: Strong pitching by Mia Reynolds led the Tribe to the program’s first championship since 2008. The Utah State-bound Reynolds allowed one hit.
Taylor Hastin drove in Maris Pinheiro in the third inning to give Tulare the lead.
Division IV — No. 1 Fowler 1, No. 6 Exeter 0: Kamerynn Cordova hit a solo home run in the bottom of the third and held the Monarchs scoreless to give the Redcats the D-IV title.
Division V — No. 3 Highland 9, No. 1 Shafter 0: Marissa Campos and Madison Edwards each drove in two runs to lead the Scots.
Division VI — No. 3 Mission Prep 4, No. 5 Lone Pine 0: Aalia Torres drove in two runs for the Royals and Roxanne Guera struck out 12.
Box scores
BASEBALL
DIVISION I
No. 1 Buchanan 17, No. 6 Liberty-Bakersfield 4
Liberty 003 010 0 — 4 10 3
Buchanan 086 021 x — 17 16 1
WP: Christian Williams (6.1 IP, 4ER, 5Ks). LP: Slikker. Buchanan, Colton O’Toole (.2IP); Austin Young 2-3, 3RBI, 2R; JP Acosta RBI, 2R; Max Bernal 2-4, 3R-HR, 5RBI; Drew Smith solo HR; Temo Becerra 3-4, 2 HR, 2B, 4RBI; Evan Wallace 3-3, solo HR; Josh Williams 1B, R; Sky Collins 3-4, 2B, RBI, 3R.
DIVISION II
No. 7 Madera 9, No. 1 Arroyo Grande 1
Madera 001 260 0 — 9 11 0
Arroyo Grande 000 001 0 — 1 2 1
WP: Nathan Palacioz (CG, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 2BB, 9Ks). LP: Justin Trimble. Madera, David Zavala 2-5; Logan Wattenbarger 2-3, 2R, RBI; David Monge 3-4; Ponce RBI; Izaak Murillo 2-4, 2R, 2RBI; Matthew Del Toro 2RBI. Arroyo Grande, Ethan Royal RBI.
DIVISION III
No. 4 Ridgeview 3, No. 2 Kerman 2
Ridgeview 010 010 1 — 3
Kerman 100 100 0 — 2
WP: Bradley Perez. LP: Adam Delgado. Ridgeview, Adam Salazar 3-4, 2RBI; Antonio Nunez 2B. Kerman, Rafael Mendoza RBI; Devon Daniel 2B.
DIVISION IV
No. 3 Washington Union 5, No. 1 Minarets 3
Washington 200 300 0 — 5 7 1
Minarets 000 000 3 — 3 10 1
WP: Kyle Plaza (CG, 10H, 3R, 1ER, BB, 5Ks). LP: Julian Rocha. Washington Union, Tyler Kiggens 2B, 2R; Plaza 2-3, RBI; Victor Gutierrez RBI; Fusi 3-3.
__________________________________________
SOFTBALL
DIVISION I
No. 1 Clovis North 6, No. 3 Clovis 3
Clovis 000 201 0 — 3 3 1
Clovis North 002 040 x — 6 8 0
WP: Ryan Maddox (CG, 3H, 3R, 3ER, 0BB, 10Ks). LP: Lauryn Carranco (6IP, 8H, 6R, 5ER, 2BB, 6Ks). Clovis, Maddy Arnold HR; Paige Bristol HR, 2RBI; Ashley Arnold 3B. Clovis North, Naleya Bridges 2-4, 2B; Maddox 3-4, 2R, 2B, HR, 2RBI; Alexis DeBoer 2R, HR; Kiara Sipe 2RBI
DIVISION III
No. 1 Tulare Union 4, No. 3 Liberty-Madera Ranchos 0
Liberty-Madera Ranchos 000 000 0 — 0 3 2
Tulare Union 001 030 x — 4 6 0
WP: Mia Reynolds (CG, 3H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 5Ks). LP: Karsyn Bauer (6IP, 6H, 4R, 2ER, 5BB, 1K). Liberty-Madera Ranchos, Lauren Chapman 2B. Tulare Union, Maris Pinheiro 2R; Taylor Hastin 2-3, 2RBI; Reynolds 2B.
DIVISION IV
No. 1 Fowler 1, No. 6 Exeter 0
Exeter 000 000 0 — 0 2 0
Fowler 001 000 0 — 1 3 0
WP: Kamrynn Cordova (CG, 0BB, 9Ks). LP: Brooke Blackman. Fowler, Cordova HR; Ameesa Almaguer 2B; Presleah Polanco 1B.
This story was originally published June 18, 2021 at 10:36 PM.
