East Union High softball coach, Brian Goulart, has heard the snide talk for most of his career with the Lancers, the presence of California’s all-time strikeout leader making it easy to understand why his team is often been accused of being one-dimensional.

            But this year the Lancers have talked back — with their bats.

            The team belted 12 hits and bounced visiting Manteca with a 10-0 route in four and a half innings on Tuesday, April 15, at the Northgate Softball Complex.

            East Union scored in each of their four at-bats, including a three-run home run from Erin            Arevalo in the first inning of the game. Arevalo, who pitched a one-hitter and complete game shutout with 11 strikeouts, was quite two-dimensional herself in the key Valley Oak League contest.

            “There has been a lot of jawing going around about how our team isn’t that good and that we’re one dimensional,” East Union coach Brian Goulart said. “You get tired of hearing it.”

            The Lancers (17-3 overall) have scored 18 runs in their last two contests, and have knocked out 151 hits in 20 games this year. East Union (6-1) sits atop the league standings while Sierra, Ceres and Manteca (all 5-2) trail in second.

            “It’s tough to say we are one dimensional when we beat a team 10-0 that was tied with us in league,” Goulart said. “Sure, Erin is the difference maker, but I am not going to apologize for how great she is.”

            Arevalo allowed just one runner to reach first, and improved her season ERA to .148. She saw help at the plate in a 3-for-3 day from freshman standout Cassie Waggy (two runs). Classmate Brittany Lamar (two RBIs) and junior Alicia Cook, who hit 2-for-3 in the contest. Rochelle Sellers knocked out a two-RBI double and Brionna Goulart scored twice in the win.

            Manteca’s lone hit came from Rebecca Moreno. The Buffs were tagged with two errors in the loss.

            “We performed poorly defensively,” Manteca coach Todd Hardcastle said. “We usually run a very tight ship, but today we could not get the defense to keep constant pressure (on East Union).”

            The Lancers will continue league play at Sonora on Tuesday, April 22, while Manteca takes on host Ceres for a pivotal league bout.

Sierra 4, Weston Ranch 0

            The T’wolves continued a tear of dazzling VOL performances with a shutout over Weston Ranch, and flawless defense behind team ace, Breann McGraw.

            The senior hurler pitched a one-hit victory, downing six of her 26 batters faced on strikes.

            Emily Silva hit 4-for-4 with two runs while Heather Scharmann batted 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a double. Megan Anderson knocked out a 2-for-4 day with two doubles as well. In all, Sierra had 12 hits in the contest, scoring three runs in an eventful third inning.

            The T’wolves came off a thrilling 7-6 win over Manteca on Thursday, April 10.

            Sierra (5-2) is at Central Valley on Tuesday.