Since we all moved our clocks ahead an hour over the weekend, the additional daylight (savings) will help make it easier for fans to watch spring sports for the rest of the season.
This past week, teams had to dodge ol’ man winter, with rainy, windy skies over local fields.
Boys Volleyball
Playing indoors is one way to avoid the weather. And the Bruin varsity boys volleyball team went all out in its first home match of the season, beating St. Mary’s High School of Stockton in three straight sets, 3-0.
The first was the hardest, where the Rams pushed them to make a 32-30 victory. Normally, volleyball games are finished at 25 points, but must be won by two points. Tied and tied and tied again, the Bruins finally held on for the win in the first set.
After that, Riverbank posted 25-14 and 25-21 wins in the non-league action.
They played at West High School in Tracy last Wednesday, losing the match by a 3-2 final.
Scores were 23-25, 25-16, 22-25, 25-23, 7-15. In the fifth game, the team scoring 15 points first, in this case, West, gets the victory.
Riverbank was to host Big Valley Christian on Tuesday, after The News went to press, travel to St. Mary’s in Stockton on Wednesday, and they’ll host East Union on Thursday, March 14.
Bruin Track & Field
Riverbank runners, jumpers and throwers got to contend with a strong, cold wind at their first home competition, a three-way scrimmage meet on Tuesday, March 5, hosting Amador and Modesto Christian high schools.
According to Coach Monte Wood, his athletes were prepared to make best use of the ‘all-weather’ track, in the rain if necessary. The skies remained dark and foreboding through the afternoon, but the main difficulty was the unrelenting wind, which kept most athletes in their warm-up gear until the last minute before their events.
It was a pre-season workout, and results were not available at press time.
TVL Relays were scheduled for Tuesday at Riverbank High.
Bruin Co-Ed Tennis
The tennis team also fought the wind in its first home meet on Wednesday, March 6, a non-league match against Liberty Ranch from Galt. Scores were not posted for either match last week.
The netters were scheduled to travel to Orestimba High School in Newman for another pre-season match today.
Lady Bruin Softball
The Rainbow Tournament, held here at Rainbow Fields last week, avoided some of the bad weather, with the RHS team getting in two games on Friday afternoon.
The team fought to a 6-6 tie in the first game, against Buhach Colony High School of Atwater, but had to settle for a 6-4 loss recorded on a technicality, when the game reached its time limit.
When time came to start the next round of games, the score was 6-6, but it was in between innings, with the Thunder, as the home team, still to come to bat. The tournament rules demanded rotation to the next series of games, so the score was rolled back to the last complete inning, when the Lady Bruins trailed 6-4.
The next game that night, under the lights, was against Stone Ridge Christian High School from Merced. It was curtailed after four innings, with a final score of 13-0, under the 10-run rule.
The Lady Bruins were to play at Ripon Christian on Monday this week, and at Vacaville Christian High School on Tuesday, March 12. Their next home game will be Friday, March 15 when they host the Livingston Lady Wolves in their first Trans-Valley League game of the season.
Bruin Baseball
Varsity baseball got in a pre-season game at Davis High School in Modesto on Friday, March 8, posting a 3-2 win.
The home field was to be busy this week, with a game against Central Valley on Monday, Ripon Christian (varsity only) on Wednesday and Orestimba of Newman on Friday, March 15.
