Generals looking good in spring sports

The Shafter High Generals baseball and softball teams both swept the McFarland Cougars last week, each winning a two-game series in the SSL. The baseball team outscored the Cougars in the series, 27-2. They won the opener on Tuesday, 16-2, and followed that with an 11-0 shutout. In the first game, Jaime Martinez was the standout, 2-4 at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing two bases.

The Generals ended the game with 12 hits in the game, with Christopher Espinoza having a perfect 3-3 game hitting.

In the shutout, the Generals got strong pitching from Alex Casanova-Balderrama, who threw a one-hitter and had 11 strikeouts. Offensively, the Generals were led by Matteo Martinez, who went 3-3 at the plate, and Jesus Paez, who went 2-2. The Generals have a bye this week, continuing their quest for an SSL title against Kennedy High School on Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m.

On the softball diamond, the Lady Generals also dominated the Cougars, beating them 12-1 on Tuesday and 12-1 on Thursday afternoon. In the first game, the Lady Generals racked up 11 hits, with Maddison Ortiz going 3-4 at the plate, and Marley Munoz going 2-3.

In the second game, Cassidy Torres turned in a gem on Thursday: she didn't allow a single earned run while striking out six over five innings pitched. The pitching appearance was her fourth in a row with less than two walks allowed. On the season, Torres has an ERA of 6.25 over 31.7 innings pitched.

Shafter now has an SSL record of 3-0-1. The Lady Generals will be back in action this week on Tuesday, beginning a two-game series with Kennedy High School.

On the track, the team traveled to the prestigious Arcadia Invitational Track Meet. This meet attracts some of the best athletes in the western region. The Generals had one athlete place in the top 10. Sophomore Joslyn Pierucci threw 135' in the discus.

Pierucci was invited to the Invitational portion of the event.

Pierucci came in ranked 18th, with the top 20 throwers invited into the Invitational division. Pierucci's 135' was good enough for 10th place, just missing the finals, which include the top 9 in the first round of competition. Pierucci was the top sophomore in the event, with the majority of her competition in the Invitational division filled with juniors and seniors.