Notebook: Stanislaus County baseball players showcase talents at All-Star game

For the last time this season, some of the best high school junior and senior baseball players laced their cleats, grabbed their gloves and put on their team caps for the final time.

Saturday, June 8, about 45 players took the field at Stanislaus State for the 32nd Stanislaus County High School All-Star Baseball Game hosted by the Modesto Sunrise Rotary Club. Because it was a showcase, the All-Star Blue and Gold teams played a nine-inning game instead of the regular seven-inning contests of the regular season and postseason.

The All-Star Gold team took an early lead but the All-Star Blue team roared back in the late innings. When it mattered most, the Gold team pulled away, winning 8-4.

Of all the stars on the field, it was Johansen’s Jordan Vaka who took home game MVP honors. The infielder had a big offensive impact that eventually helped the Gold team secure the win. It was a boost of confidence for Vaka, who said he did not earn all-league awards even after hitting .396 with 21 hits, 11 RBI and five doubles for the Vikings.

“It was an honor,” he said of earning the all-star nod. “I felt like this season I was doing well … coming here was an honor to me.”

Vaka and 34 other seniors played their final high school games Saturday. Some will play in college, some won’t. But they all got a taste of the college athletics experience by taking Warrior Field.

For the past three and a half months, these student athletes were competitors, but they got to be teammates Saturday. Vaka took the field with former Western Athletic Conference opponents from Davis and Ceres. CCAL foes from Downey, Gregori and Pitman played together on the Gold team. For the Blue team, Trans Valley League opponents from Hughson and Modesto Christian played.

“It was fun,” Vaka said. “We got to mess around a little bit in the dugout, but we’re still handling our business on the field.”

They all earned the opportunity to uphold a longtime Stanislaus County tradition in playing in the all-star game. According to the Modesto Sunrise Rotary Club, for the past three decades, it has supported local athletes by raising more than $230,000.

Hughson’s McDaniel flips commitment ahead of senior season

Hughson High three-star quarterback Robert McDaniel flipped his college commitment from Cal Berkeley to the University of Arizona. One of the top quarterback prospects on the West Coast, McDaniel originally committed to Cal in March but decommitted in late May. On May 26, McDaniel posted on X that he committed to Arizona.

McDaniel, an All-District quarterback, has led the Huskies to back-to-back section titles, a state title and a state runner-up appearance in the past two seasons. During his junior season, he threw for 2,839 yards with 33 passing touchdowns to just four interceptions.

Modesto Christian guard gets three more offers

Gavin Sykes’ stock has continued to rise this summer on the basketball recruiting circuit. The guard, who already had six Division I scholarship offers, recently added three more offers to Long Beach State, UC Riverside and Cal Berkeley. Sykes was a first team all-district selection for the Crusaders, leading them in scoring with 21.3 points. The Crusaders won a third straight Division I section title this season and advanced to their third straight NorCal Open Division semifinal. They are expected to have another successful season as Sykes and Myles Jones return and the Crusaders welcome back Mason Brown, who was injured last summer.

Modesto native to compete at Olympic Trials

Modesto Christian graduate Nicole Warwick will compete among the best track and field athletes in the world at the 2024 US Olympic Trials from June 21-30 in Eugene, Oregon, after she set an Olympic qualifying mark in the heptathlon with a score of 6,115 points. She will also compete in the long jump in Eugene. Warwick spent the last four years as an athlete at Azusa Pacific University, where she had one of the best careers in program history. According to the school’s athletics website, she ends her career as a 17-time All-American between indoor and outdoors (nine-time outdoor, eight-time indoor) and a three-time individual national champion (2023 indoor pentathlon, 2024 indoor long jump, 2024 outdoor long jump). At the 2024 NCAA D-II Outdoor Track & Field Championships, she won the long jump title with a meet-record leap of 6.81 meters.

One of Central Valley High’s leading goal scorers stays local for college

One of Central Valley High boys soccer’s leading scorers, Alexis Cervantes signed a letter of intent to play soccer at CSU Stanislaus next season. Cervantes was one of three Hawks to score more than 10 goals and tally at least four assists this season for the team, which finished first in the Central California Conference and reached the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I quarterfinals. The Hawks finished the season 21-7-1 overall and 11-1 in league play.

Modesto-area teams selected for spring Cal-Hi Sports awards

Big Valley Christian’s section and Northern California regional championship team headlines a list of Stanislaus District schools to receive spring season honors from Cal-Hi Sports. The Lions won section and NorCal titles for the second time in three seasons and on June 3 were named the Cal-Hi Sports California Division V softball state team of the year for the second time in three years. The Lions played a competitive schedule this season that included a 1-0 loss to D-III section champion Oakdale and a win over Trans Valley League champion Ripon. They were named the state No. 1 Division V school after a dominant run through the NorCal tournament that included a run rule win in the NorCal championship.

In the site’s softball rankings, Oakdale (22-7) finished 37th in the Top 40. The Mustangs jumped from not ranked to No. 30 after beating Capital Christian in a thriller to claim the Division III section title. They dropped from No. 30 to No. 37 after falling in the opening round of the NorCal playoffs 1-0 to Willow Glen. In the state divisional rankings, Gregori (24-5) finished as an honorable mention in California Division I. The Mustangs finished No. 2, Central Catholic (20-8) finished No. 10 and Ripon (17-6) finished as honorable mention in D-III. Big Valley (24-6-1) finished ahead of Le Grand as the top-ranked team in Division V.

In the baseball rankings, Central Catholic (23-10) finished No. 8 in the Division III state rankings, moving up two spots after reaching the NorCal championship for the second straight season. Oakdale was in the D-III extended next five, ranking No. 14. Hughson (26-4) jumped from no ranking to No. 7 in the Division IV state rankings. The Huskies advanced to at least the section semifinals for the third straight season. SJS D-VI runner up Ripon Christian finished as the No. 8 team in the Division V state rankings.