As the spring season wound down, the Bruins tennis team went all the way to the Sac-Joaquin Section final, while softball qualified for playoffs and baseball closed out the season.
The Bruins were Trans-Valley League champions in tennis and used their strength to go through the Section competition before finally falling to Placer in the finals on Friday, May 13.
Under head coach Bruce Edwards, the Bruins took on Dixon in first round action on Tuesday, May 3, hosting their opponent, the Golden Empire League number three seed. Riverbank went in as the top seed from the TVL and handled Dixon in a 7-2 decision on the home courts.
Monday, May 9 they faced off with Southern League top seed Ripon Christian and battled the Knights but ultimately came away with a 5-4 win. The same score came against Bear River, the Pioneer Valley League number two seed, on Wednesday, May 11 in the semifinal round.
On the other side of the bracket, Pioneer Valley League number one Placer was victorious over Ripon, Escalon and Lindhurst, setting up the final pairing. There, Edwards said, the Bruins saw their season come to an end just short of securing the blue Section banner, falling to the powerful Placer team at Oak Park in Stockton on Friday, May 13.
Getting all the way to the final, however, was a thrilling accomplishment for the talented, driven Bruin team.
“Riverbank has not been in the final two (out of 45 high schools) since 2002,” Edwards said.
Diamond Teams Honor Seniors
The RHS baseball and softball teams closed the Trans-Valley League season with Senior Nights and wins on the home field.
The Bruin boys closed their season at home on a high note on Wednesday, May 11. The team honored graduating seniors and their families, then recorded a 15-5 victory in a run shortened, six-inning game against visiting Modesto Christian High School. RHS also won at MCHS, 4-3, on the road. Since MC doesn’t field a JV team, the younger Bruins closed out their season with a pair of losses, both home and away, to Ripon the week before.
The Lady Bruins, meanwhile, hosted Hughson for their Senior Night, the final home game of the year, on Monday, May 9 with a 6-0 shutout, rapping out 13 hits. They closed out their season with a 4-2 loss on the road at Hilmar last Wednesday, May 11.
The varsity girls, though, now move on to the second season, the playoffs, as the number seven seed in Division V, scheduled to travel for a first round game today, Wednesday, May 18. They will take on the number two seed Marysville squad in a 5 p.m. game at Arnaiz Softball Complex in Stockton.
