The Bluffer - Red Bluff, CA
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/118237
LUFFER Sports Page 7 Tennis has early season issues Tymberlyn Bealer Staff Writer The Red Bluff High School���s male tennis team has officially started their season with a rocky start. Their last match was against Enterprise and they lost in the third set tie breaker. However, their next match is on Thursday against Foothill. When I asked Thunder Shaffer how he thought the team would do in their next match he replied with, ���We���re going to win because their lower ladder isn���t as strong as ours.��� Some of the players are working hard to improve on their play and technique. I switched to a one handed four hand and that���s coming along nicely,��� said Shaffer. Garrett Ward said, ���I���m Sam Rodriguez/BLUFFER Sophomore Cory Twitchell about to hit the ball back to the other side of the court during a practice this week. working on my doubles because I enjoy singles, but I really love doubles with Cory Twitchell.��� The team as a whole has been working on getting better. Also, the team has been working on team bonding. The boys have really been working hard during practice to prepare for their matches. To work on team bonding the boys have been taking full advantage of road trips to getting to know everyone on the team better. Some of the boys thought that Devin Schullen has been working very hard and is the most improved. Devin has had two exceptional single matches. The players are looking forward to many things season. ���Harder legs for more challenging matches,��� said Shaffer. ���Besides winning and getting to know my team better,��� said Ward. Though the season so far is a bit rocky, they had some parts they liked. ���So far everyone���s pretty rusty, but we have had good practices,��� said Thunder. Ward also said it is fun to get back into tennis. Im looking forward to the road trips the most. Yesterday they played Shasta High School. Their next game is at Enterprise High School on March 28 at Red Bluff High. J.V. baseball wraps up preseason schedule while still undefeated Mitch Fox Staff Writer The Red Bluff High School JV Baseball Team has won there league the last three years and is on their way to another league title this year. So far this year the Spartans are undefeated only tying Chico. Other than that the team has been blowing everyone out. The team has a new head coach this year named Bobby Hassel who has formerly been the JV assistant coach. This is his first year head coaching at the high school level stepping in for former coach Ryland Sanders who is now filling the role of Varsity head coach. The strengths of this team rely on some solid sophomore leadership, according to sophomore Sam Hendricks who also says the keys to their success so far has been taking full advantage of their practice time. Although Sam is a sophomore this is his first year on JV after getting pulled up to Varsity last year. He plays shortstop and leads off for the Spartans. ���We want to win league and go undefeated,��� said sophomore 2nd basemen Will Macdonald when asking about the team goals. Will bats 2nd in the lineup and says they have a lot of depth. According to Will there toughest league opponent is Shasta, PV is also very tough but they are not in there league. ���Coach Moran pays attention to detail and knows a lot about the game,��� said Macdonald. George Moran is an assistant coach for the team. Will also says that they like to focus a lot on playing small ball. Which means getting a runner on, moving him over, and scoring by using tools such as bunting. Sophomore 1st basemen Walker Dodero says he is excited for the regular season to start because they are undefeated so far. Walker says they focus on a lot of situation drills which make them better. According to the team Walker and Eric Shreater are the teams primary pitchers. Dodero is the clean-up hitter for the spartans and has started off hot. ���He has been very helpful and has been hitting the ball really well,��� said freshman, Ryan Gamboa. Gamboa is the teams starting catcher this year and has made the jump to JV baseball with no trouble. ���It���s a lot more competitive than any baseball I���ve played in the past,��� said Gamboa. The JV team will travel to Raley Field this weekend to play the Gridley JV team. Raley field is home of the A���s triple-A baseball club team Sacramento River Cats. The game is part of Red Bluff���s baseball program fundraising on the year. Lady spartans travel to Big League Dreams after staying above .500 in first tournament Veronica Smith Staff Writer The Red Bluff Varsity softball team has come a long way to be proud of their record which is currently 5-2 and are confident of their team���s hard work. With the girls having a new assistant coach who was the JV coach last year, the whole team feels as if she is a great role model to have and they all love working with her, she is a great person to look up to. According to junior short stop and 3rd basemanTayler Zazueta the team is getting a lot more repetitions at ground balls, fly balls, and swings. Another difference is that the team is doing more conditioning this year to stay in shape said Zazueta ���She is someone I believe we all look up to, she knows so much about the game and with her playing at a collegiate level she knows how to coach from a players point of view,��� says Zazueta. I ���arefeel liketowe going have a fantastic season if we keep up the hard work.��� -Tayler Zazueta The girls were able to start off the season with their first two games easily won with great pitching and batting. The only two games lost were during a tournament, losing to Chico and Foothill, but they were able to fix their mistakes for the next games. The team beat Yuba City, Folsom, and Chico at their opening tournament with a combined record of 3-2. During practice the girls are making sure they are practicing every little thing whether it is batting, pitching, good defense, and good defense techniques. They are making sure they will be ready for whatever the other team has to throw at them during the games. One important thing that keeps the team strong is they are close on and off the field, they cheer each other on no matter what during practice and games and they act as one. Boys golf team begins season with confidence Sarah Bartlett Staff Writer The Red Bluff High School Golf Team has a match every week, the most recent one being on Monday, March 18, 2013 against Gold Hills. They practice every day at the Wilcox Golf Course. The practice begins at 3:30 pm and ends when the sun goes down. During practice, first they warm up. Then they chip and put. They also do some team bonding. It is important that they work together, as the total score is all of the players��� points combined. The Wilcox Golf Course lets the team practice there for free since it���s a school team. It is a big help to the team. The assistant coach, Dan Ackley, teaches American Government. The head coach, Elena Tomasetti, teaches Algebra one and Algebra two, along with tutoring. Tomasetti is very dedicated to the team and encourages them in every way she can. According to Tanner Durfee, freshman, Daniel Frantz, senior, and Peter Mitzel, senior, are a big part of the team. They are strong and dedicated to the team. ���They are great people and fun to be on the team with,��� Durfee said enthusiastically. The team had a practice match on Tuesday, March 12. A practice match is when different teams get together and play a round of 18 holes. They had a good time and assessed their opponents. They got to see how strong their opponents are. The Pleasant Valley, Enterprise, and Shasta golf teams were there along with RBHS. Durfee said that Pleasant Valley has a solid team and that most of their players have been playing golf since they were three or four years old. This makes them a strong opponent. ���It looks like it���s going to be a good season,��� Durfee said with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye, excitement evident on his face. The team is very confident, as they have won the California Interscholastic Federation before. The spartans next tournament is March 25th at the Plesant Valley Invitational at Bidwell Park. The tournament witll tee-off at 1:05 p.m. This year the team is doing great, they have a solid line up all the way through and everybody has a certain job to do and they are always making sure they are going to get it done. ���I feel like we are going to have a fantastic season if we keep up the hard work,��� Zazueta explains. Zazueta ha started off the year by hitting two home runs in the opening tournaments. Zazueta is hitting .348 with eight RBI���s and one double. Bryce Etzler has 28 out of 46 innings this year in only 7 games played. Etzler was the number 2 pitcher last year and is going to carry most of the pitching duties this year. Etzler is halfway to the amount of innings she had last season. ���Considering she didn���t pitch very much last season, she has been doing very well,��� said Zazueta. With Etzler pitching more this year, Zazueta has made the transition from playing third base to short stop. Zazueta was an all-league recipient last year at third base. ���It has been very different but not to difficult to make the change,��� said Zazueta.Zazueta has been playing both positions her entire life and feels like whatever the team needs her to do, she will do. ���I remember growing up and playing both. I will play whatever the team needs me to play for us to be successful,��� said Zazueta. The lady spartans take a short drive to Redding this weekend to play in a tournament at Big League Dreams. March 22, 2013 S partan ound off Who do you want to win the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament? Madeline Eicholtz(9) ���Duke because they are good.��� Trey Shilts (10) ���Baylor because I���ve heard they are really good.��� Laura Owens (11) ���Gonzaga because they are doing really good right now.��� Jaime Gonzalez (12) ���Gonzaga because they are ranked number one and clearly they are the best.��� V r Spartans Player of the issue Daniel Frantz Frantz has already signed a National Letter of Intent to attend the University of St. Francis in Illinois. Frantz has won back to back to back NSCIF individual golf titles. He plans on using his scholarship as a springboard into his professional golf career. Mrs. Wagner (Teacher) ���Baylor because that���s where Krista Rodriguez goes.��� Mr. Kennedy (Teacher) ���Harvard, you can���t go wrong with a bunch of nerds.��� Player of the Issue/ Garrett Sandow Sound Off/Claire Samay