If sizable wins over Alisal and Everett Alvarez are to be
expected, the Balers proved Friday against Salinas their recent
offensive explosion is by no means an aberration. Pounding out 17
hits, including five extra-base hits and a home run each by
Tonascia and Marcus Sabatte, the Balers erased an early 3-0 lead
against the visiting Cowboys and nearly ended the game via the
10-run rule, instead winning comfortably by a 12-7 margin in what
was an important, much-needed victory for San Benito.
HOLLISTER
Chalk it up to a youthful team gaining valuable in-season experience, or one that is simply buying into what the coaching staff is selling.
But the San Benito Haybalers have officially found their offense.
“At the beginning of the year we weren’t hitting, just due to a lack of experience,” said sophomore first baseman Jacob Tonascia. “We only had five or six guys return to varsity, so we had to get used to it a little bit. And we’ve really been hitting a lot more at practice, and that’s helping a lot.”
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If sizable wins over Alisal and Everett Alvarez are to be expected, the Balers proved Friday against Salinas their recent offensive explosion is by no means an aberration.
Pounding out 17 hits, including five extra-base hits and a home run each by Tonascia and Marcus Sabatte, the Balers erased an early 3-0 lead against the visiting Cowboys and nearly ended the game via the 10-run rule, instead winning comfortably by a 12-7 margin in what was an important, much-needed victory for San Benito.
Whatever it is, whatever the hitting antidote has been, the Balers have managed to win seven of their last eight games, and have done so by averaging more than 10 runs per game.
“I would say after we beat Alisal in two games, I think we played Gilroy next and that stretch is where it started,” Tonascia said of San Benito’s recent turnaround at the plate, which has seen the Balers outscore its last eight opponents by a 76-24 margin.
At this point in the year, too, every game is important for the Balers (14-5), who remain in second place in the TCAL with a 12-3 record. They received no help from rival Gilroy (8-7 TCAL, 12-8) on Friday, however, as the Mustangs dropped two games to Palma (14-2).
The Chieftains are now 13-2 in the TCAL and in sole possession of first place. But the Balers can still earn a share of the TCAL crown; they just need to win the remainder of their league games, including a May 6 contest at Palma.
“Palma’s a good team, and Salinas is really a good team in the TCAL, too,” Tonascia said of the Cowboys, who are now in third place in the league at 10-4. “And we needed to beat Salinas again, just to have the majority — 2 out of 3.”
The Balers split their previous two contests with the Cowboys (11-7-1), but Friday’s 12-7 outcome again showed how San Benito’s offense has awoke. After all, San Benito defeated Salinas 3-2 in its first meeting, and lost 3-1 in the second meeting last month.
The Cowboys posted three runs in the opening frame on Friday, too, which might have been enough, had it been March.
“Just the way we’ve been so offensive the last two weeks or so … knowing that it’s a long game, we were planning on scoring more than three runs,” San Benito manager Jason Bugg said. “It was just a matter of staying patient, and the guys showed it. They fought back, tied it up and never looked back.”
Starting pitcher Bryan Granger surrendered the three-spot in the first on just two hits. A leadoff walk was compounded by a hit-batsman, setting up a 2-run double by Jesse White. White then later scored following a pitch in the dirt and an RBI single by Otto Kramm.
It was apparent that Granger (5.2IP, 7R, 7H, 5K, 3BB) was missing his target high, however, which led to Salinas’ early lead.
“To tell you the truth, my hands were really wet and the ball kept slipping. But I don’t want to make excuses or anything,” said Granger, whose said his hands were sweaty in the opening frame. “It was just slipping off my fingers. I finally got to the point where they were drying, and I just found it. But I was just missing in the first inning.”
No matter. Like Bugg said, the Balers were planning on scoring more than three runs anyway.
Craig Slibsager was 3 of 4 with a double and two runs scored, Tonascia went 3 of 5 with three RBI and a pair of runs, while Ryan Jacob, Matt Vallejo, Daniel Arevalo, Granger and Sabatte each added two hits apiece.
Following a scoreless home half of the first, San Benito erased the three-run deficit with a three-spot in the second after Jacob hit an RBI single to left field, while Vallejo chased him home with a 2-RBI double to center field that one-hopped the wall.
Salinas pulled starter Colby Genasci (2IP, 5H, 3R, 3K) entering the third inning for lefty reliever Ryan Bangs (1IP, 4H, 3R, 1K, 1BB), but the Balers didn’t let up.
In fact, they scored another three runs, as Sabatte lifted a solo homer to left — his fourth of the season — and Slibsager plated Tonascia with an RBI single to right. Slibsager then later scored on another RBI single to left field by Jacob.
The bottom of the fourth inning saw another Salinas pitcher — Aaron Vasquez (2IP, 5R, 7H, 3K, 2BB, 1HBP) — and another three runs scored by San Benito, highlighted by a 2-run blast to left field by Tonascia in the fourth and an RBI single by Tonascia to left field in the fifth.
“It’s a maturation of two months of work, just starting to now peak,” Bugg said.
Salinas cut the 11-3 deficit in the sixth when a two-out rally turned into four runs following a bases-clearing 3-RBI double by Anthony Teresa, but it was as close as the Cowboys would get.
Anthony Ocampo (1.1IP, 0R, 2H, 1K) relieved Granger in the sixth, and the Balers tacked on a 12th run in the seventh when Michael Breen hit a wall-ball double and later scored on a sac fly by Sabatte.
San Benito is now off for 10 days, and won’t return until April 25 when it will open the Crown Classic against Wilcox.
“Give the guys credit,” Bugg said. “They bought into it, our philosophy, of getting good pitches to hit and trying to hit the ball up the middle or opposite field, and it didn’t work out in the beginning of the year as much. But give them credit, they stayed patient.
“Now we’re just gelling.”
Notes:
Shortstop Ryan Jacob took a bad-hop grounder off his nose in the top of the fifth inning of Friday’s game, and was taken out as a result. Bugg said he took it square in the nose. The accident comes just three days after Jacob collided with pitcher Darin Gillies, who suffered a bruised sternum in the collision. Jacob’s status was unknown at press time.
SALN — 300 004 0 — 7 9 3
SANB — 033 321 X — 12 17 0
WP: B. Granger
LP: R. Bangs
