Starting 0-2 in the Monticello Empire League last fall left Vanden High’s football team in a world of hurt. Not only had the Vikings not lost consecutive league games since joining the MEL in 2015, but those losses were to the two teams expected to give Vanden a run for the MEL championship.
The second loss came against Vacaville and was the last in 2024 for Vanden. The Vikings won Sac-Joaquin Section and state championships for second time in four seasons after failing to defend their first MEL crown. Their 0-2 start in the MEL turned out to be a hiccup instead of a heart attack.
Vanden’s softball team had its own hiccup in March by losing two of its first three MEL games. The Vikings have not lost since dropping an 8-3 decision to Pioneer on March 25. They won their last nine MEL games and 13 in a row overall to claim the No. 2 seed in the section Division III playoffs.
No game in the streak was as important as the 8-1 win over Pioneer on April 9. Pitcher Isabella Cueva got the best of Jia Beebe, who allowed a season-high eight earned runs. Beebe is 20-5 and is first in the state in wins. Cueva is 9-0 since losing to Pioneer and 11-2 overall.
Vacaville, Pioneer and Vanden will not see each other again this season after finishing tied atop the MEL at 10-2. The teams will go their separate ways in three different divisions for the playoffs. Vacaville is the No. 4 seed in Division II and will host No. 13 Tokay of Lodi at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
Vanden will host No. 15 Christian Brothers in Division II. Pioneer joins Vanden as a No. 2 seed, but the Patriots are in Division IV and will host No. 15 Del Campo. Will C. Wood, which tied for fourth place in the MEL, is No. 11 in Division IV and will travel to No. 6 East Union in Manteca.
Joining Vanden in Division III will be Dixon as the No. 9 seed. The Rams will travel to No. 8 Vista del Lago in Folsom. Buckingham College Charter Academy is seeded third in Division VI and will host No. 14 Golden Valley of Merced. The Knights’ home field is located behind Fairmont Elementary.
BASEBALL: Vacaville has not had much luck in the postseason outside of winning section Division I championships in 2018 and 2019. The Bulldogs were seeded eighth in Division II and beat No. 9 Laguna Creek 12-2 on Wednesday before dropping a 4-1 decision at No. 1 seed Jesuit on Friday.
The Bulldogs lost in a first- or second-round game for the seventh time in the past 10 seasons. The three exceptions are the section title seasons and 2021, when they did not qualify for the playoffs. The worst of those early exits came in 2017 when Vacaville was the No. 1 seed and lost to Del Oro.
The 2017 squad was loaded with five players who went on to start at Division I colleges – Braydon Altorfer (Air Force), Tyler Bosetti (Nevada), Troy Claunch (Oregon State), Cole Elvis (Cal) and Shea Kramer (Utah). Vacaville was 24-4 in 2017 and is one of four teams to reach 20 wins in the past 10 years.
Three of those seven playoff losses came to eventual champions Elk Grove in 2015, Davis in 2016 and Franklin in 2002. Vacaville won Division I championships as the No. 7 seed in 2018 and No. 1 in 2018.
— Errors and walks continued to prove costly for Vanden, which was knocked out of the Division IV playoffs as the No. 9 seed Friday with a 10-0 loss at East Union in Manteca. The Lancers reached double digits in runs with just six hits because the Vikings issued nine walks and had four errors.
Giving away bases resulted in the Vikings throwing away games in coach Kevin Berg’s first season. The Vikings averaged four errors and five walks in their seven MEL losses. The numbers would be substantially better if not for three games in which the Vikings were in a generous mood.
