Tigers softball, baseball teams begin their annual Easter tournament play. Baseball begins Monday

The baseball opener is slated for 1 p.m. at Clovis High School.

The Tiger boys have been struggling in the West Yosemite League. Lemoore fell to 1-5 after Friday’s disappointing 11-4 loss at Golden West. The Tigers hosted the Blazers earlier in the week (Wednesday, April 10) and came away with a 4-0 victory.

The Tigers are expected to play at least four times in the Easter Classic and will return to WYL action on April 24 with a game against Mt. Whitney in Lemoore. They’ll play the Pioneers again on April 26 and then take on Hanford twice in the season’s final week.

The Lady Tigers were scheduled to play Reedley in the first round Saturday at the Tulare Classic. Game time was 2 p.m. The Tigers will follow that game with a game against Porterville the same day. Tournament play will continue on Monday.

The ladies, 3-3 in the WYL, are hanging on in the race for the league title despite a disappointing 15-1 loss Wednesday at Redwood High School, but the determined Tigers rebounded on Friday, defeating El Diamante on the Miners home diamond 9-6.

Leading the Tiger assault was Sierra Phelps with three hits, three RBI and a run scored. Lemoore fell behind early, falling behind 5-0 after three innings before rallying with five runs of their own in the top of the fourth to tie the game at 5-5.

Lemoore fell behind again in the bottom of the fourth when El Diamante scored to up the advantage to 6-5. But Lemoore added a run in the sixth and three more in the seven to win.

Joining the Tigers’ offensive show (16 hits and nine RBI) were Susannah Campos, Megan Van Allen, and Madison Martinez. Campos was three for four at the plate and scored twice. Van Allen was three for four with two RBI and a pair of runs. Martinez was three for four with a pair of RBIs and two runs scored.

The game was a sort of slugfest. Tiger pitcher Leslie Segura, despite giving up 14 hits, earned the win.