The Oakdale Mustangs delivered Sonora its first Valley Oak League golf loss Thursday at Oakdale Golf and Country Club.

The Wildcats were coming off a match Tuesday in which they shot a season-low 197 against Sierra.

“We figured, ‘OK, let’s go get ‘em,’ but then came out flat,” said Sonora head coach Steve Lee. “It’s a hard score (240) but not one indicative of what we can do.”

The Bullfrogs’ tennis team was edged by the Amador Buffaloes 5-4 in Thursday’s Mother Lode League matchup at Bret Harte High.

The Sonora Wildcats girls’ soccer team kept the score close in Thursday’s Valley Oak League battle against East Union, until the Lancers ran away with it in the final 20 minutes.

The first half was scoreless for 38 minutes before East Union broke through.

Former baseball great Reggie Jackson (right) sat in the Bret Harte dugout Tuesday during the Bullfrog’s Mother Lode League opener against Argonaut in Angels Camp. Maggie Beck / Union Democrat

Bret Harte fell to Argonaut 15-0 in six innings in what was the first game of the Mother Lode League season for both teams, but Marshall’s mother, Sean “Seanie” Plummer, said her fallen Bullfrog would have just been happy to be on the squad.

“I’m just so proud of both teams for getting out there,” Plummer said. “I used to tell my son it’s not about losing or winning a game, it’s about participating in the game.”

The Bret Harte Bullfrogs tennis team defeated the Summerville Bears Tuesday 9-0 at Tuolumne to open play in the Mother Lode League.

Sonora’s Billy Kiriluk (right) contributed to the Wildcats’ season-low score on Tuesday. Maggie Beck / Union Democrat

The Sonora Wildcat golfers stayed perfect in the Valley Oak League (5-0) on Tuesday, shooting a season-low 197 to drub the Sierra Timberwolves by 44 strokes (241) at Mountain Springs Golf Club.

By shooting under 200 as a team, Lee will treat his Wildcats to pizza. 

“They’ve been trying to get into my pocketbook for awhile,” said Lee. “I’ve told my teams for years if they shoot under 200 on a par 36, I’ll buy pizza. It’s a coach’s dream to have a team score under 200. It happened once last year, but a 197 is a really special score. We haven’t had that kind of score in a few years. What a great team effort.”

A former Sonora Wildcat has been making waves since joining the rowing program at University of California, Santa Barbara.

Michael Campbell, a 2012 Sonora High graduate, not only battled a field of more than 100 hopefuls to earn a spot on the Gauchos’ 40-man novice rowing team, he was also recently elected a team captain by his peers and led his boat of eight rowers to a first-place finish over UCLA in their second race of the season March 9.

“He’s been a pleasure to have on the team,” said UCSB Novice Mens’ Rowing head coach Scott Wike. “Mike really stood out from his peers and they respected him, which is why he was elected a team captain.”

Photos by Amy Alonzo Rozak, The Union Democrat

Trees around Phoenix Lake Golf Course are in full bloom and golfers took advantage of perfect weather conditions to play a round, or two. Sammy Marquez, of Sierra Village (right) chips from just off the green.

Dodge Ridge will host the annual Pincecrest Invitational ski race for the 42nd year.

The race, for area elementary through high school-aged boys and girls, is scheduled for Friday with the first of three runs starting promptly at 10 a.m. 

“This is the 42nd year that Dodge Ridge has hosted the Pinecrest Invitational and it’s great to see parents and grandparents who competed when they were young cheering on the next generation,” said Dodge Ridge President Sally Helm. “We look forward to hosting this event every year because it brings the community and the students of area schools together.”

Preparations continued over the weekend for a special event Wednesday celebrating both the Bret Harte Bullfrogs varsity baseball home opener and the life of a 17-year-old player who died earlier this year.

Sean Plummer, mother of the late Alex Marshall, said more donations collected over the weekend brought the total value of items that will be raffled to more than $20,000 at Bret Harte’s Mother Lode League opener against Argonaut, which will also include a special appearance by baseball legend Reggie Jackson.