Baseball:

Pierce 4 – West Campus 5 (3/7)
Pierce 6 – Maxwell 1 (3/8)

The Bears opened their season on the road last week with a narrow loss to West Campus before returning home to down county rival Maxwell.

Against West Campus, Pierce put up a four spot in the top of the first, but the Warriors responded with three in their half of the frame then put two more on the board in the second, which was enough to edge the Bears.

At the plate, Colton Vanlaningham was 2 for 2 with an RBI, while Brayden Hoebel went 2 for 3 with a double and an RBI, Danny Rubio doubled, and Julian Camberos had an RBI single.

Playing the following day, Pierce bounced back against Maxwell behind a dominant performance on the mound that saw Hoebel and Luke Myers fan a combined 13 Panther batters.
Vanlaningham collected another hit with Rubio and Rodney Hofhenke each driving in a run.

This week was scheduled to be a busy one for the Bears (1-1) starting with a contest on Tuesday at Sutter Health Park and continuing with home games against Gridley on Thursday, Williams on Friday and Lower Lake on Saturday.

Maxwell 4 – Esparto 5 (3/7)
Maxwell 1 – Pierce 6 (3/8)

Growing pains continued for a very young Panther squad (1-4) as they dropped games to Esparto and Pierce, respectively.

In its home game against Esparto, Maxwell got off to a fast start striking for four runs in the home half of the first but could not hold off the Spartans, who chipped away at the deficit, eventually taking the lead in the sixth inning.

Tanner Vierra had a triple and an RBI for the Panthers, while Massey Baker, Brody Jones and Cale Kuska finished with one hit apiece.

In Arbuckle last Tuesday, Maxwell got its lone run in the third inning when Jones drove in Walter Avery with a double.

After having its home tournament canceled due to weather, the Panthers were back at it this week with a scheduled series against Willows at home on Monday and on the road Wednesday. ■

Softball:

Pierce 1 – Anderson 11 (3/7)
Pierce 4 – Maxwell 3 (3/8)

Pierce was able to squeeze in two games last week, finishing 1-1 after losing to Anderson and then edging Maxwell.

Statistics from the contests were not available, although the Bears took advantage of nine free passes to get by the Panthers.

Pierce (1-2) was slated to face Gridley at home on Thursday before welcoming Lower Lake to town on Saturday.

Maxwell 15 – Esparto 1 (3/7)
Maxwell 3 – Pierce 4 (3/8)

It was an impressive opening performance for the Panthers as they trounced the visiting Spartans, but then cooled off the following day, falling just short on the road in Arbuckle.
Against Esparto, Maxwell got a shutdown performance in the circle from Jocelyn Lazarus and Bailee Haywood as the duo combined for 11 strikeouts.

Emma Hendrix finished 3 for 3 with a triple and a double, while Teresita Salazar was also a perfect 3 for 3 at the plate, which included a double.

Lazarus helped her cause by going 2 for 3 with a double and knocking in a pair of runs.
In last Tuesday’s contest with Pierce, Salazar was 2 for 3 with an RBI, Hendrix had a single and drove in a run, with Haywood and Makenna Dunlap accounting for the Panthers’ only other hits.

Even on the year thus far, Maxwell began a series with Willows on Monday, then made the trip north on Wednesday to complete the series with the Honkers. ■