After going 2-1 during the Redwood High School tournament over the weekend, the San Benito volleyball team improved to 14-4 overall.
The strong weekend followed a tough 3-2 loss to Lowell in Hollister on Friday. Against Lowell, the Balers traded sets with the Cardinals (10-25, 28-26, 13-25, 25-18) before falling 15-12 in the match-deciding set.
In Redwood City, San Benito opened up the tournament with a 2-1 victory over El Molino. San Benito took the first game 25-20 before falling 25-18 in the second set. The Balers, though, got off to a good start in the final set to escape with a 15-11 victory.
San Benito continued that success to its second match, beating San Leandro 2-0 with a pair of dominant sets. The Balers rolled in the first set to a 25-17 victory but clinched the win with a 25-19 second set victory.
The tournament ended, though, with a tough 2-1 loss to Moreau Catholic. The Mariners took the first set 25-23 but San Benito responded strongly with a 25-16 victory in the second set. Moreau Catholic took the match, though, with a 15-7 victory in the third set.
SBHS Baseball
In the first game of the Valley Christian Tournament on Monday, the Balers allowed 10 runs in the final two frames to Clayton Valley to fall to 11-3 on the season.
Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning, San Benito allowed the Eagles to score five runs to pull away. The Balers responded with three runs of their own in the top of the sixth inning but Clayton Valley took away all hopes for a comeback with five more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Hunter Haworth started on the mound for the Balers, and threw 4 1/3 innings. He allowed eight hits and four earned runs. Jacob Trujillo entered the game in relief and allowed six earned runs in 1 1/3 innings for the Balers.
At the plate, San Benito could only scatter five hits – finishing with only one extra base hit. Garret Kelly contributed two hits for the Balers – including a double. Michael Breen (0-for-3), Matt Hawk (1-for-3) and Josh George (0-for-3) each finished with one RBI.
SBHS Track and Field
In one of the biggest track meets of the year, the San Benito boys and girls track and field teams split with Notre Dame and Palma on Thursday.
The boys narrowly were defeated by the Chieftains, falling 71.5-64.5. The girls, though, handily defeated Notre Dame.
After losing the short distance track competitions, San Benito dominated the long-distance events. Christopher Cook took the 400-meters race (51.96 seconds) and R.J. Collins finished first in the 800-meters (2:08.16) and the 1600-meters (4:38.39). Steven Velarde continued that long-distance success with a victory in the 3200 meters (10:23.86).
In the discus, Erik Rivera (130-05) and Kenneth Campbell (124-10) took first and second. John Canes finished in first place in the polo vault (10-00) to round out the Baler victories.
The girls team finished in first place in 13 of the day’s 17 events. Savanna Wilson took first in the 100 meters (13.48), the 200 meters (27.92) and the long jump (15-09). Breanna Lowther also took first in multiple events, blowing away the field in discus (104-11) and shot put (31-06).
