The San Benito baseball team earned a strong seed and a home
game and the softball team earned three extra days off when the
Central Coast Section playoff pairings were announced Saturday.
The San Benito baseball team earned a strong seed and a home game and the softball team earned three extra days off when the Central Coast Section playoff pairings were announced Saturday.
The baseball team, which finished the regular season with a school-record 26 wins and earned a share of the Tri-County Athletic League, snagged the No. 3 seed and will host No 14 Santa Clara (16-14) at 4pm Wednesday.
The ‘Balers (26-8) and Bruins did not square off this season, although coach Michael Luna had plenty of chances to look at them when San Benito participated in the Santa Clara Bruin Classic in the preseason.
Last year, San Benito opened the playoffs with an 18-1 thrashing of Oak Grove, before falling to Santa Teresa 5-1 in the second round. This time around, the ‘Balers are hoping for a long run into CCS.
A win in the opener would match San Benito up with either No. 11 Menlo-Atherton (13-13) or No. 6 Bellarmine Prep (23-12) . The ‘Balers own a win over the Bells from the consolation finals of the Serra Knights of Columbus tournament when junior second baseman Brian Haggett blasted a walk-off home run in a 12-11 victory.
That contest would be Saturday at PAL Stadium in San Jose, with the time still to be determined.
For the softball team, which enters the playoffs at 29-3 and as the outright champions of the ultra-competitive TCAL, the playoffs won’t begin until Saturday. The ‘Balers earned the No. 2 seed behind Carlmont and have a bye in the first round.
The defending CCS Division I champs will open their title defense at 10:15am at the Salinas Sports Complex on Field No. 2 against either No. 10 Wilcox (16-10-1) or No. 7 Monta Vista (18-8-1). Those teams square off at 4:15pm Wednesday at the same location for the right to face San Benito.
If the ‘Balers were to face Wilcox, they would see a team they own 10-0 and 6-2 wins over this season. San Benito has not faced Monta Vista since losing to the Matadors in the 2005 CCS quarterfinals.
The ‘Balers run to the CCS title last year also began with a first-round bye and was followed by a showdown with league rival Gilroy. They beat the Mustangs 7-0 to advance, then added a 7-0 win over Carlmont before edging Watsonville 1-0 in nine innings in the title game.
