Team invited to national tournament
The sports budget at San Benito High School increased by another
$200 last Saturday after the No. 2 seeded Baler softball team
ousted top-seed Carlmont 2-1 to win the Central Coast Section
Division I softball championship for the second year in a row.
Team invited to national tournament
The sports budget at San Benito High School increased by another $200 last Saturday after the No. 2 seeded Baler softball team ousted top-seed Carlmont 2-1 to win the Central Coast Section Division I softball championship for the second year in a row.
“I guess that means another championship banner is going to be going up next year in the gym,” said Scott Smith, the San Benito High softball coach. “Tod Thatcher [the athletic director] told me he doesn’t mind buying as long as we keep on winning them.”
In addition to the banner Smith and his team also learned shortly after winning the section title that they would be one of just 32 teams in the nation invited to play in a prestigious national tournament next March in southern California that is sponsored by Cal-Hi Sports.
“That’s remarkable in itself,” Smith said. “This year was really special. When we won the first one last year, there were always holes that could be poked in it. They could say we didn’t win league and we got good calls here and there. But winning the TCAL (league title) this year and then winning CCS really validated us. It was more important in my eyes.”
What should really be an eye opener is the way the Baler softball program has improved each season since Smith took it over six years ago. In addition to the two section titles and this year’s league title, San Benito High School’s record has improved every year.
“We won 20 the first year, then 24, 25, 27, and last year we won 29,” Smith said. “This year, we won 32 games. The most you can play in, counting tournaments, is about 36, so next year it’s going to be a tough one to top.”
But that doesn’t mean the Balers won’t keep the streak going. This year, the Balers will lose five players to graduation but the core of the team’s defense, its star pitcher and the offense will be coming back.
“We’ll lose some power with the graduation of first baseman Audra Brown and will have a big defensive hole to fill without catcher Ashley Perreira,” Smith said. “But most of them will be coming back.”
One of those players that is coming back is the team’s star hurler Marissa Ibarra, who was almost un-hittable for most of the season, posting an ERA of under 1.00, tossing four no-hitters and striking out more than 200 batters in the process.
Although she is one of the top pitchers in the state, Ibarra also has solace in knowing that her team backs her up offensively and defensively on those rare occasions when she struggles on the hill.
That was the case in the Balers 13-7 win over league rival Gilroy in the section semifinals.
“That was the most runs that we had given up in two years, but the win allowed the whole team to mature,” Smith said. “It allowed Marissa to realize that she didn’t always have to carry the load and that she could relax.”
Against Carlmont Ibarra was her dominant self, striking out 5 and allowing just three hits in the 2-1 win. In fact, Ibarra kept the Scots guessing to the point that they never were able to get runners in scoring position with less than two outs the entire contest.
In the championship game, the Balers jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the opening inning when J.C. Clayton, who batted a whopping .610 this season, drew a 12-pitch walk. Rachel Maheu then bunted her over to second before Lizzy Gatto hit a two-out single up the middle to drive home Clayton.
The Balers picked up the much-needed insurance run with two outs in the fourth. No. 8 hitter Alyssa Ashford hit a two-out single that was followed by a line shot to first by Danielle Scibuola that Carlmont’s first baseman couldn’t hang onto, which paved way for Clayton, the team’s explosive leadoff hitter, to come to the plate. She responded with a base hit.
Carlmont would pick up a run in the bottom half of the sixth on a single and a double, but it would be too little too late.
“I’m feeling pretty good,” said Smith, after the win. “Winning it all this year and last year is really close in comparison. This team had a real closeness to it. And this team hit the ball a lot better than last year’s team. The thing was that we really outplayed them. We played a very good game and had a lot of scoring chances.
Hopefully, next year we can do it all again.”
This CCS victory was the first one that Smith got to enjoy on the field. Last year his assistant coach Mike Maheu coached the title game as Smith was in attendance at his daughter’s wedding in Texas.
