To get a grasp on how the San Benito High softball team has become one of the most dominant programs in Central Coast Section history — in any sport, boys or girls — one only has to watch the team practice.
Led by 13th-year coach Scott Smith, the Haybalers, who open up the season on Saturday in the Watsonville Tournament, are the epitome of perfection.
Everything the Balers do — from pitching to fielding to drilling on plays that might never happen in a game — is completed with a meticulous attention to detail that is perhaps unrivaled of any program in Northern California.
“I’m even more intense in practice than in the games,” Smith said. “I just think as a coaching staff we try to put so much pressure on them (the players) in practice, so in the big games they don’t feel pressure in certain situations.”
The formula seems to be working. San Benito, which has won eight consecutive CCS Division I championships, is aiming to equal the section record of nine consecutive titles Notre Dame-Salinas won in D-III from 1998-2006.
The one defining trait the Balers have displayed over their current run of championships — besides dominant pitching, timely hitting and great defense, of course — is the ability to not commit a game-killing mistake.
Time and again, the Balers, who finished 25-3 last season, have prevailed in close, nail-biting contests simply by making fewer mistakes than their opponent. Last year’s title run highlighted the team’s uncanny ability to play its best when the stakes are highest.
Even though San Benito walloped Leland 10-0 in the championship game, it had to survive two white-knuckle affairs just to get to the title contest. The Balers opened up the postseason with a 4-3 win over North Salinas before winning another thriller in the semifinals, 2-1 over Homestead.
In each game, the Balers didn’t win because they more talented, but because they executed better in nearly every phase of the game. When it comes to the fundamentals, San Benito has played with a precision and skill that no team in the section has been able to match in the last eight years.
“Our motto is we don’t mind getting beat, but we don’t like to lose. Meaning we don’t want to make mental mistakes that cost us to lose,” Smith said. “We pay attention to every little detail in practice. If they make a small mistake, we make them run.”
Fortunately for the players, they haven’t had to do much running in practice — yet.
“We all have a healthy respect and fear of the coaching staff,” said junior standout Adriana Ibarra, who plays catcher, first base and pitcher. “So far the girls have been pretty much on task, and we all understand there’s a responsibility when we put on this uniform.”
Indeed, at a recent practice Smith gathered a group of five players — all freshmen or sophomores — to talk to them about what it means to uphold the tradition that is San Benito softball.
Smith’s main message? Bring effort. Every. Single. Day.
“At the end of the day, whether we win or lose, we want to play our best,” Smith said. “We’re not concerned with who we’re playing against, because at the end of the day we’re talking about how we did and what our expectations are. We always say we’re playing against ourselves, because the standard has already been set.”
So what’s in store for the Balers this season? Interestingly enough, Smith said the team is at a similar crossroads as it was prior to the 2010 season, because neither squad had a dominant pitcher returning.
Of course, in 2010 Paige Miguel developed into a bona-fide ace, and the rest is history. The Balers won CCS titles in Miguel’s junior and senior years — during which time she put up perhaps the two greatest statistical seasons in San Benito pitching history — continuing the program’s dynasty-like run.
“It’s going to be an interesting year,” Smith said. “You hear people talking about how we’re not going to be very good this year, and that we’re going to fall flat on our face. But we have a lot of good athletes, and there’s a lot of talent here. As far as D-I players, this is our most talented team on paper.”
Never before has San Benito entered a season with three players who were already committed to Division I programs — Ibarra has given a verbal commitment to San Jose State, sophomore utility Suzy Brookshire has given a verbal to Sacramento State and sophomore second baseman-shortstop Callee Heen has given a verbal to Hawaii-Manoa.
The Balers’ lineup looks potent and stacked, with Brookshire, Ibarra and Heen forming the heart of the order. Ibarra hit .328 last year while also going 7-2 with a 1.46 ERA in 46 innings of work.
Early in the season, at least, Smith said he’ll use up to five pitchers. However, the veteran coach expects Ibarra and sophomore Maddie Gutierrez to pitch the bulk of the innings as the season goes on.
The Balers graduated Megan Sabbatini, who went 18-0 last season and is now pitching at the University of San Diego.
“You can’t replace a Megan Sabbatini,” Smith said. “Those are big shoes to fill, and they don’t come along very often. But I do look at Maddie as a Paige Miguel type where no one saw Paige coming in and having a great season. I look for Maddie and Adriana to step up and lead us to some victories in the circle.”
No matter what happens, Smith knows the team will have to work harder to get outs. Although Ibarra recorded 37 strikeouts in 46 innings a year ago, she relies on her defense to make plays, and Gutierrez fits the same mold.
“Last year Megan averaged seven to 10 strikeouts a game, meaning on average the defense only had to record eight to 11 outs a game,” Smith said. “This year we’ll have to get 18 to 19 outs, so the defense will have to be that much more on point and work that much harder for us to have the same success.”
Gutierrez possesses an effective dropball and solid change-up, and Ibarra has a great change-up and strong off-speed curveball. The two should make for a potent combination, as Gutierrez is a right-hander and Ibarra a lefty.
“We look for that lefty-righty mix to be a two-headed monster that hitters will have a hard time adjusting to,” Smith said.
Although the Balers graduated a ton of talent, they don’t rebuild — they simply reload. San Benito has a couple of freshmen and sophomores who should make an impact this season, including freshman center fielder Brittni Rossi, who has impressed Smith with her speed and accurate throwing arm.
Sophomore outfielder Tina Ramirez and her sister, Katie Ramirez, should bolster the outfield. Smith has high praise for junior infielders Alyssa Newman, Isha Gonzales and Sarah Rickard.
“Defensively, this is probably as talented an infield as we’ve had here,” Smith said. “Offensively, we potentially have 14 kids who can swing the bats, so this could be our most potent lineup as far as hitting goes.”
Smith and his assistants are excellent teachers of the game, and they work in unison to make sure practices run smoothly and the players soak everything in. Smith can always be seen shadowing his players during practice.
At one recent practice, Smith literally stood a couple of feet behind his infielders as they fielded ground balls. One by one, Smith made his way around the entire infield, giving pointers to each player while showing them the proper technique on positioning and fielding.
“We cover everything,” Ibarra said. “We’ll even practice plays you’ll never see in a game, just so we’re prepared for anything. It’s great because we know when we start a game, we can handle whatever comes our way.”
The Balers probably have more question marks entering the 2014 season than in any other year since they started their current streak of CCS titles eight years ago. They graduated most of their starting position players.
The lineup, while packing loads of potential, is still relatively inexperienced when it comes to playoff competition. More importantly, San Benito doesn’t have a hammer in the circle as in previous years.
However, Smith said that’s just the way he likes it.
“It’s going to be up to the kids and whether they accept the challenge, and so far they’ve been practicing really hard,” Smith said. “If we pitch well, I think we’ll surprise some people.”
