Sizzle 12s continue run of success

The Ceres Sizzle 12-and-under travel softball team continued its run of success this fall by finishing in first place for the second time.

The Sizzle brought home a plaque and championship rings from the NSA Labor Day Tournament, staged Aug. 31-Sept. 1, at Rainbow Fields.

“They played great, the way they were supposed to,” Ceres head coach Jon Harris said.

The Sizzle won all five of their games.

“We had timely hitting and good defense,” Harris said. “Our pitchers kept us in games. We didn’t give up many runs all weekend.”

Ceres edged Firecrackers Martinez-Black 8-7 in extra innings for the championship on Sept. 1.

The Sizzle avenged a 6-5 loss.

The game was decided by the international tiebreaker. Each team started the fifth inning with a runner on second base.

Down 7-6, Ceres tallied two runs in the bottom of the fifth to secure the victory.

Vanessa Berber drove in Layla Scott and Brynley Aiello when she lined a single over the second baseman’s head.

“The ending was pretty incredible,” Harris said. “Vanessa had a good at-bat.”

Ceres posted a team batting average of .368.

The Sizzle totaled seven hits and five walks.

Hailey Sainz batted 1-for-2 from the plate with one home run, four RBIs and one run.

Berber batted 1-for-3 with one double, two RBIs and one run.

Aiello batted 1-for-2 with one double, three runs and one stolen base.

Bailey Harris batted 2-for-2 with one double, one RBI and one run.

Audrina Garcia batted 2-for-2 with one RBI.

Scott and Mia Morales both scored once.

Garcia was the winning pitcher.

She allowed seven hits and six runs with three strikeouts and three walks in five innings.

Ceres topped Central Elite McLemore 12-3 in the semifinals on Sept. 1.

The Sizzle bested the Santa Nella Nightmares 21-1, Central Elite 14-3 and Havoc 11-5 on Aug. 31.

Ceres improved to 10-1-1 on the season.

The Sizzle amassed a 5-1-1 record at the Aug. 17-18 NSA Fastpitch Fiasco in Turlock.

Ceres will compete in the AST Swing 4 The Fences, Sept. 21-22, at Big League Dreams in Manteca.

“If the girls play to their potential, they can play with any team around,” coach Harris said.

The Sizzle will be vying for their third straight tournament title.

“It’s awesome,” Jon Harris said while talking about his team’s performance this fall. “The girls are playing hard. You can tell they want to win. Hopefully, we keep the streak going.”