League title within reach for Balers
Despite dropping a 3-1 contest to second-place Palma on Saturday
at home, the San Benito High baseball team is still in the driver’s
seat in its quest to win back-to-back league titles.
On Tuesday after The Pinnacle’s press time, the 12-1 Balers went
on the road where they faced the fifth-place Trojans of Alisal
High
– a team that, up until that point, had won only four games in
league this season.
League title within reach for Balers
Despite dropping a 3-1 contest to second-place Palma on Saturday at home, the San Benito High baseball team is still in the driver’s seat in its quest to win back-to-back league titles.
On Tuesday after The Pinnacle’s press time, the 12-1 Balers went on the road where they faced the fifth-place Trojans of Alisal High – a team that, up until that point, had won only four games in league this season.
That same afternoon the Chieftains squared off against the basement-dwelling Vikings of North Salinas High – a team that has yet to win a single game in league all season.
With both teams expected to win those contests, the Balers were expected to have maintained a two-game lead over the Chieftains with just four remaining. And one of those final games includes a May 2 contest against the hapless Vikings, making the goal of winning another league title seem more realistic with each passing day.
Against Palma, the Balers looked slightly shellshocked against Chieftain pitcher Jarrel Morris, who mixed things up with a slew of off-speed pitches that left the Baler batters second guessing themselves at the plate all afternoon.
Morris wound up going the distance, allowing only three scattered hits in his seven-strikeout effort. He had a no-hitter going into the fourth inning before leftfielder Kevin Burley singled to right field to break the no-hit bid.
“Our hitting has been my main concern the whole season,” said Baler coach Michael Luna in an earlier interview. “We have the pitching but we need more timely hits.”
And that was clearly the case against the Chieftains. But that doesn’t mean that the Haybalers didn’t have their chances. In the second inning, the Balers were able to load up the bases but failed to cash in. For the game, San Benito High stranded eight runners.
The Balers did manage to get on the scoreboard in the bottom half of the fourth when Burley scored from third in a run-down play between first and second that left him unattended.
The Balers had one final chance to keep their unbeaten streak in the Tri County Athletic League alive when they loaded up the bases in the bottom of the seventh with one out but ended up hitting into a double play to end the game.
A single by starting pitcher Zach Canez and a double by senior second baseman Brian Haggett were the only other hits for the Balers in the losing effort. Canez, the Balers ace, wound up pitching five innings, allowing two runs and striking out three. Miles Sanchez came in the came in the sixth inning and gave up four hits and one run in the losing effort.
“We’ve just got to realize that when you play quality teams, your mistakes have to be at a minimum or zero,” Luna said. “The best thing is that we came back and gave ourselves a chance to win the game. That’s a sign of a real good team.
