Clovis Unified High School Sports Roundup

By
Jess Gonzalez
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High school sports …Time for “la crème de la crème”  

May 9, 2024 – The French call it “le crème de la crème.” In our country we know it as “the cream of the crop.” In any language it means the best of the best. That is who will be competing in the next few weeks as the end of the school year brings a close to the spring sports season for high schools everywhere.

Depending on the sport, it means only the teams and individuals that performed best during the regular season are eligible to partake in the part of the season that is not on their regular season schedule. While all teams and individuals aspire to be champions by season’s end, only by being  the best of the best in their division or league can they continue to keep playing at this time.

This being the last week of the regular season for most sports means playoffs and championship meets will mostly take place this and next week. At end of the 2-3 weeks of championship play, Central Section team and individual title winners will be crowned in each sport. At that point, some sports will mark the end their season, while in others, the top section participants will advance to the state championships.

As is very much a tradition, many Clovis area teams and individuals have qualified

Girls Softball…Not much change at the top 

The current girls softball rankings mostly have teams that have been consistently ranked in the top 10 spots during the season. The only noticeable change for most teams in that elite group is their won and lost record. Bakersfield Christian with a nearly impeccable record of 21-1 has the best won-lost record in the Central Section.

Central Section Girls Softball Rankings
(As of May 6, 2024)

  1. St. Joseph (Santa Maria) 20-3-1
  2. Central 16-6-1
  3. Centennial (Bakersfield) 22-5
  4. Buchanan 20-4-1
  5. Bullard 19-6
  6. Bakersfield Christian 21-1
  7. Frontier (Bakersfield) 19-4
  8. Clovis North 16-7
  9. Kingsburg 17-5-1
  10. Taft 23-2-1

Central Section Playoffs

Teams that qualify for the playoffs will be playing in the win or go home tournament. Dates for all such games commence on Wednesday, May 15.  Second round games will be on Friday, May 17. Third round games will be on Wednesday 22.  The finals will again be held at Margie Wright Field at Fresno State on either Friday May 24th or Saturday May 25th, depending on the division.

Boys Baseball…3 Clovis teams in top 10 in Central Section  

Liberty High School of Bakersfield has climbed to the top of the Central Section Baseball Rankings after posting a 4-0 record since the April 22 rankings. For its part, the Clovis Cougars, who were top ranked in those same rankings, went 2-4 in that time spell and have dropped to fourth place in the rankings.

In what can be interpreted as an oddity in the rankings, the Cougars are ranked one place ahead of the Clovis West Eagles even though Clovis West has a better record—21-5 compared to 18-1—and defeated Clovis in a three-day three game series by scores of 13-8 on April 30th, 7-5 on May 1st, and 6-3 on May 3rd. Such is the world of rankings in sports.  The Eagles also sit atop of the Tr-River League with an impressive 11-1 record while Clovis is the runner-up at 8-4.

Central Section Boys Baseball Rankings
(As of May 6, 2024)

  1. Liberty (Bakersfield) 22-4
  2. Cabrillo (Lompoc) 22-2
  3. Bullard 20-6
  4. Clovis 18-8
  5. Clovis West 21-5
  6. Bakersfield Christian 20-5
  7. Redwood (Visalia) 21-5
  8. Frontier (Bakersfield) 17-9
  9. Kingsburg 19-7
  10. Clovis North 17-9

Central Section Playoffs

The Central Section tournament playoffs will start on May 14th in all divisions. Second and third round games will be on May 16th and 21st, and championship games will be from May 23rd to the 25th, depending on the divisions played in.