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Spring Wrap Mustangs Show Winning Ways In Early March Competition
0316 Soccer Wrap
@font-face { font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }table.MsoNormalTable { font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } An aggressive move lets Katie Adian, at right, move the ball up field for Oakdale during preseason action for the Lady Mustangs. - photo by IKE DODSON/THE LEADER

Varsity soccer, baseball, softball, tennis and golf athletes at Oakdale High went a combined 8-3-1 against local opponents in a successful stanza of action this past week.

Following is a wrap of Mustang success on each respective field of play.

 

Soccer

Oakdale blasted Division V Hughson and Ripon 6-1 and 7-0 in back-to-back games, before tying Division I Enochs in a 2-2 battle on Thursday.

Jill Kahler (two), Hailey Turney, Markie Arnold, Kerri Feuerstein and Jessica Gomez all scored on Hughson while Jenna Micheletti (two), Gomez, Feuerstein and Kristen Brunk came through with assists. Morgan Kinyon had four saves and Jordin Altmann three.

Kahler added a three-score hat trick one day later in the Ripon win and saw Turney, Arnold (assist), Bryanna Welch (assist) and Feuerstein all reach the net. Sara Siemsen, Katie Adian, and Emily Wallace also made passes resulting in a score, while Kinyon (two saves) and Altmann (four) combined for the shutout in the net.

The deadlock with Enochs came after a four-goal first half and a six save effort from Kinyon. Feuerstein and Kahler scored while Gomez delivered an assist.

The Mustangs hosted Summerville on Monday, though results were not available at press time. Oakdale opens Valley Oak League action today, March 16 (6:30 p.m.) at Sierra in a pivotal contest against the reigning league champs.

 

Baseball

The Oakdale freshmen are soaring after an undefeated romp through competition to nab first place honors in their host Mark Dickens Tournament last week.

The varsity team nearly saw the same honor after two straight wins to open the Pedretti Tournament at Turlock High, but allowed a disastrous first inning to give host Turlock the edge in a 6-2 loss in the championship game of the tourney.

Oakdale’s varsity had upended Enochs by a 5-2 score on March 7, after a five-inning, five-strikeout performance from Brennan Williams and two scoreless innings from Andy Morris and Spencer Thomas (two strikeouts each). Williams also hit 2 for 2 in the win, while Stefan Aguilar, Lane Branch and Tyler Asher had a hit and RBI apiece.

The Mustangs went on to topple Modesto, 7-1, in the first game of the Pedretti Tournament on Thursday. Braydon Stephens batted a sterling 3 for 3 with three RBI while Matt Butler landed two hits and three RBI as well. Bryce Dyrda tossed five innings with five strikeouts and one run allowed while Zach Abbott silenced Modesto in the final two innings.

Morris needed only five innings of work (two strikeouts, three walks), after some monster hitting from Oakdale in a 12-2 mercy-rule beating of Lodi on Friday. Ten Mustang hitters accounted for 12 base knocks in the win, including three from Mark Ortiz (two doubles, four RBIs) and another two from Thomas (two RBIs).

The win moved Oakdale to the finals, where Turlock rallied to score six runs off Russell Longworth in the bottom of the first inning. Oakdale charged back late with two runs and even had the bases loaded for Williams, but couldn’t see an equalizer. Longworth battled back to strike out seven and toss four scoreless innings while Butler closed with a quiet seventh. Butler and Ortiz landed RBIs to score both runs and came through with a hit each.

“Overall we are excited about the season,” Oakdale coach Hondo Arpoika said. “Even against Turlock, the kids never hung their heads and battled back to be in a situation to tie the game.”

Oakdale hosts Kimball today, March 16, at 4 p.m. to open Valley Oak League action.

 

Softball

Two days after landing a thrilling 12-1 throttling of 2010 Division I playoff qualifier St. Mary’s, Oakdale’s varsity softball team saw reserve pitchers falter in a 9-3 loss to D-I Enochs on Friday.

“We have had two losses, both at home, and both followed our two biggest victories of the year,” Oakdale coach Larry Loger said. “We are on a bit of a roller coaster. We are young, and we need to get it figured out by league.”

The win over St. Mary’s came after a sharp 4 for 4 day from Marissa Toy (two doubles) and a 2 for 2 performance from Kaila Olson. Brianna Parker smashed a grand slam in the second inning to score four runs and saw Sarah Peterson (2 for 4) and Shelby Cordova (double) also hit well. Parker also tossed three innings with a run allowed, while Cordova closed with two strikeouts in the final two innings.

Enochs pulled away with three runs in the fifth and another three in the seventh, capitalizing on four Mustang errors to land success against Cordova and Shelby Reali. Cordova and Brooke Magnussen each smashed a double while Ghianni Falconi (two walks, two runs) and Toy (three walks, run) found a way to get on base.

Oakdale’s junior varsity team won an 11-1 game against St. Mary’s after five innings and eight strikeouts from a dominant Rylie Pena. Lauren Sanders hit 4 for 4 with two runs while Pena, Hanna Holland and Morgan Arndt each had two hits.

Oakdale then blasted Enochs in a 19-3 score after 12 strikeouts from Anneliese Davis. Holland (2 for 2, three runs, home run), Sanders (2 for 2, two runs) and Melinda Koppinger (3 for 3) were all perfect from the plate.

Oakdale was at Tracy on Tuesday, though results were not available at press time. The varsity Mustangs host Sierra (5-0-1) in a key game for the VOL lead on March 22.

 

Tennis

Oakdale rebounded from a 15-0 landslide loss to Manteca by edging Sonora in an 8-7 thriller on March 10.

Daniel Dunning came through with big wins to down Josh Smith, Ben Bates and Julian Divine in 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 scores while Anton Grenval defeated the trio with 6-2, 6-2, 6-0 marks. Paul Perrone fell to Smith in a 4-6 score, but clinched the Oakdale win by blasting past Divine and Bates in 6-1 matches.

Oakdale’s doubles tandems of Jarod Firstbrook and Jeremy Willinger and Chandler Johnson and Frank Rossier were unable to come away with wins.

The Mustangs hosted Sierra on Tuesday, though results were not available at press time. Oakdale is at Lathrop on Thursday.

 

Golf

Mustang golfers teed the VOL season off right with a 208-259 win over Manteca on March 8 to advance to a 4-1 overall mark on the season.

Ryan Jones turned in a medalist low of 39 at the Oakdale Golf And Country Club while Ian Stogdell, Issac Rellamas and Reid Souza all carded a 42. Michael Tripp shot a 43, and Connor Gust had the throw out score at 46, though it bested each Manteca score.

Oakdale’s talented golf team postponed a March 10 contest with Sonora and hosts Lathrop on Thursday, March 17.