SALINAS
Marisa Ibarra did it again.
The senior hurler tossed her second no-hitter of the season Monday while the offense pounded out 13 hits as the Lady ‘Balers shutout host Everett Alvarez 7-0 in Salinas.
Ibarra, who threw a no-no earlier this season against Burlingame, hurled the seven-inning shutout while striking out 10 Alvarez batters. With the Lady ‘Balers providing an error-free game in the field, Ibarra missed a perfect game by just a single walk allowed.
With the San Francisco State-bound Ibarra in complete control from start to finish, San Benito pocketed all the run support it’d need to get the win in the first inning.
JC Clayton singled on to start the game, then stole both second and third base. The throw to third, however, was overthrown by Alvarez and Clayton scored easily to make it 1-0.
Clayton, whose three leadoff singles in the game each led to Lady ‘Baler runs, is batting .640 in the Tri-County Athletic League this season, .600 overall.
Clayton continued her hot hitting when she singled on in the third as well, but she wasn’t the only one. Jessica Steigleman and Jessica Vest both followed with singles of their own to load the bases when Bre Fata knocked in one with yet another single. Marissa Adame then connected on a two-RBI double, while Mari Vallejo made it a 5-0 game with another run-scoring single.
With Ibarra forcing Alvarez to post goose eggs across the scoreboard, San Benito padded its lead in the sixth with two more runs, all started once again by another JC Clayton single.
Clayton then stole second base to put herself in scoring position, and Steigleman followed with an RBI single that brought Clayton home. Vest then plated Steigleman from first base with an RBI double.
The victory marked win No. 20 overall on the season for San Benito (6-1 TCAL, 20-3), which will look to keep pace with rival Notre Dame with two more games this week. The Lady ‘Balers will visit Alisal Wednesday before returning home for a make-up game against Gilroy on Thursday.
Both games are scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
SB – 104 002 0 – 7 13 0
EA – 000 000 0 – 0 0 0
