It was a rough week, to say the least, for Oakdale varsity softball. On Tuesday, March 18 Oakdale traveled to play Central Catholic and lost 9-0. Two days later, Oakdale hosted Mountain House and lost 3-1.

First place Central Catholic (10-4, 3-0) held Oakdale (7-5, 2-2) to just one hit in the game. That hit came from leadoff hitter Jayci Volonte. Jaelyn Lee pitched four-and-a-third innings for Oakdale, giving up five earned runs (eight total) on five hits. She also struck out five and walked two. Emily Thomason pitched an inning and two-thirds, giving up one earned run and struck out a pair of Raiders. The Mustangs also had three errors in the loss.

Coming off the difficult loss, Oakdale hosted newcomers to the Valley Oak League, Mountain House. Also known as Mustangs the Mountain House girls are making themselves feel at home in their first season in league play as they are currently in second place in the league standings. Oakdale’s sluggish offensive struggles continued when they had just three hits in the home loss. Briley Everett, Emily Thomason and Madi Bohannon all reached base on singles. The game was scoreless through three innings until Mountain House scored a run in the top of the fourth. Oakdale answered with a run in the bottom of the fourth when Bohannon scored. The tie was broken in the top of the fifth inning when Mountain House tagged Oakdale for two runs to go up 3-1. Oakdale committed three errors in the loss. Lee pitched a complete game for Oakdale resulting in seven innings of work. She had one earned run and struck out eight while not surrendering a walk.

Oakdale looks to shake off the rust when they return to play on Thursday, March 27 at home against East Union. This game is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Oakdale has a long stretch of home games as they play host to seven straight games in the upcoming weeks.

The JV girls did not play this past week. They return to the field on March 27 against East Union at 4 p.m.

BASEBALL

A 3-0 advantage in the first inning evaporated before their eyes. On Friday afternoon, March 21 the Oakdale varsity baseball team lost 5-4 on the road at Clovis. Jordan Haver drove in three runs in the first inning on a double but that was not enough for the Mustangs against the Cougars. Clovis chipped away at the deficit and scored two runs in the second inning to make it a 3-2 game. After two scoreless innings Oakdale tacked on a run off the bat of Eric Velazquez to score Peyton Wallace making it a 4-2 ballgame. Things unraveled for Oakdale in the sixth inning when Clovis posted three runs to take a 5-3 lead.

A trio of pitchers took the mound for the Mustangs. Haver pitched four complete innings. He gave up five hits, had five strikeouts and walked a pair. Haver also had two unearned runs given up. Ayden Ardis pitched one inning giving up two earned runs and walked one batter. Landon Schutte also pitched one inning. He gave up one earned run and struck out one batter.

This was Oakdale’s lone game of the week. They return to Valley Oak League play this week. It is a three-game series against Sierra. Currently Oakdale holds a record of 7-5, 4-2 in league play. The Mustangs are in second place behind Manteca.

In their only game of the week, Oakdale’s JV boys knocked off Bear Creek 5-4.

BOYS TENNIS

A successful week for Oakdale High School boys tennis. Two of the three matches ended in victories for the Mustangs. Wins over Central Catholic and Manteca highlighted the week and their only blemish was at home against Sierra.

Tuesday, March 18 Oakdale defeated the Raiders 6-3. Camden Knight fell in an absolute battle. He lost 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (11-9). Jaxton Marler lost 3-6, 7-6 (9-7) 11-9. Levi Hensley earned a 6-4, 6-4 victory. Matthew Yakligian won in straight sets 6-0, 6-1. Austin Speiller took a 6-0, 7-5 victory. In doubles the team of Max Birchall and Mitchell Benning lost 6-1, 6-3. Brody Lev and Anthony Llona fought for a 6-3, 6-7 (1-7) 11-9 win. Border Rath and Abraham Jeevan won in straight sets 6-4, 7-5. The following day Oakdale lost to Sierra 8-1. Earning the only win for Oakdale was Yakligian with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Santiago Franco.

The busy week came to a close when the Mustang boys defeated Manteca 5-4. It was a revenge victory for Oakdale as they lost to the Buffaloes earlier in the season. In singles action Knight fell 6-1, 6-1. Marler lost 6-2, 3-6, 10-8. Earning his third victory of the week for Oakdale was Yakligian with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) win. Hensley lost 6-3, 6-4. Speiller suffered a 6-3, 6-7 (1-7) 10-5 loss. Tristan McCarthy won in straight sets over Steven Sarmiento 7-5, 7-5. A clean sweep for the Oakdale doubles helped power Oakdale to victory.

SWIMMING

Friday, March 21 Oakdale High School swimmers took on Patterson in a Valley Oak League showdown. At the conclusion of the meet, it was the Oakdale varsity girls earning a 106-63 victory and the varsity boys claimed a 92-68 win. Here are the swimmers who placed first.

Varsity Girls

200 Medley Relay: Ellie Frazer, Leah Sales, Josie Thompson and Hannah Markovich 2:11.01; 200 Freestyle: Hannah Markovich 2:30.20; 200 IM: Danica Potter 2:53.41; 50 Freestyle: Danica Potter 29.53; 100 Butterfly: Abby Faridi 1:22.68; 100 Freestyle: Ellie Frazer 1:05.70; 500 Freestyle: Leah Sales 6:43.36; 100 Breaststroke: Leah Sales 1:17.24; 400 Freestyle Relay: Danica Potter, Hannah Markovich, Layla Kassahn and Abby Faridi 4:37.50; 50 Backstroke: Ellie Frazer 34.35.

Varsity Boys

200 Medley Relay: Caleb Kirschner, Zach Hinckley, Tyler Mercer, Cooper Fox 2:11.01; 200 Freestyle: Baron Haidlen 2:06.56; 200 IM: Zach Hinckley 2:30.98; 100 Butterfly: Tyler Mercer 59.69; 500 Freestyle: Cooper Fox 5:52.44; 200 Freestyle Relay: Tyler Mercer, Baron Haidlen, Zach Hinckley and Cooper Fox 1:14.20; 100 Breaststroke: Zach Hinckley 1:15.35; 400 Freestyle Relay: Caleb Kirschner, Colton Thoni, Mitchell Danipour, Tyler Mercer 4:00.49; 50 Backstroke: Mitchell Danipour 33.12; 50 Freestyle: Tyler Mercer 24.36; 100 Freestyle: Caleb Kirschner 59.47.

TRACK AND FIELD

Friday, March 21 Oakdale traveled to Manteca High School for a track and field meet. When it was over, both teams got a victory. The Mustang varsity girls earned a 106-34 win, while the host team varsity boys edged Oakdale 75-64. Here are the first-place finishers for Oakdale in the various events.

Varsity Girls

100 Meters - Lynsey McPhee (13.26); 400 Meters - Jordan Wylie (1:06.56); 800 Meters - Jordan Wylie (2:38.10); 1600 Meters - Bradie Evans (5:36.74); 100 Meter Hurdles - Danika Savage (17.25); 300 Meter Hurdles - Danika Savage (52.21); 4x100 Meter Relay - Savannah Rivera, Danika Savage, Gianna Carroll and Lynsey McPhee (51.77); 4x400 Meter Relay - Danika Savage, Jordan Wylie, Shelby Mitchell and Kinsley Alves (4:38.37); 4x800 Meter Relay - Zeidy Cornejo, Makenna Duenas, Shelby Mitchell and Jordan Wylie (13:32.24); Shot Put - Memphis Carr (37’7); Discus - Natalie Powell (1st); Long Jump - Savannah Rivera (17’6.5); Triple Jump - Lynsey McPhee (32’4.5).

Varsity Boys

110 Meter Hurdles - Wes Burford (15.57); 4x800 Relay - Landon Arnold, Jesus Covarrubias, Weston McGhee and Dirk Scott (11:44.25); Pole Vault - Grant Gardner (12’6); Long Jump - Luke Kirkpatrick (20’3.5).

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

Oakdale’s varsity boys took a pair of shutout losses this past week. They hosted Mountain House on March 17 and fell 3-0 in scores of 12-25, 12-25 and 8-25. They then went on the road to Manteca, where they faced off with the East Union Lancers. It was another 3-0 loss but the boys did get a few more points in the match; falling 17-25 in the first set, 12-25 and 17-25. The squad is still looking for its first Valley Oak League victory but does have a couple of non-league wins on the books this season.

GOLF

In the only contest scheduled for the week, Oakdale High School boys golfers were kept off the greens due to weather. A contest against Hughson was canceled due to rain on Monday, March 17. It will not be made up. However, this week Oakdale is scheduled to host the Valley Oak League #1 on March 26.