Atwater, Merced softball pick up wins

The Atwater High softball team continued their hot streak with a 5-0 win over Turlock on Friday afternoon to extend their winning streak to six games.

Cheyenne Mahy followed up her three-hit shutout against Merced with a one-hit shutout against the Bulldogs. Mahy struck out nine and walked just one to improve to 12-4 this season with a 0.34 ERA.

Melanie Valencia and Mahy led the Atwater offense with two hits each. Valencia scored twice and Mahy drove in two runs.

The Falcons improved to 13-6 overall and 9-3 in the Central California Conference.

Merced 9, Pitman 8 at Merced – The Bears avoided a second straight loss with a big seven-run fourth ining to erase a four-run deficit.

The Bears (16-5, 11-1 CCC) are now one win or an Atwater loss shy of clinching at least a share of their sixth consecutive conference championship.

Madilyn Nickles went the distance for the win, striking out 14 hitters and giving up five hits and one walk. The UCLA-bound senior also went 3-for-4 with two runs. Rheanne Lewis added two hits to go along with two runs scored and two RBIs. Juaqlyne Garza also had two hits and knocked in three runs.

This story was originally published April 29, 2016 at 11:16 PM with the headline "Atwater, Merced softball pick up wins."