The Balers have continued their success in local track and field. In the first two dual meets of the season, Hollister High decisively won both boys and girls competitions in decisive fashion.
On March 5, Hollister beat Alisal 104-23 on the boys’ side and 97-26 on the girls’ side. Two weeks later, the Balers beat North Monterey County. The boys’ score was 101-30 and the girls’ tally was 78-53.
Against the Trojans, HHS rolled in the sprints. Alexander Suguira won the 100 in 11.68 and Jacob Jackson was a double winner, taking the 200 in 22.71 and the 400 in 51.62.
Blithe Richards won the girls 100 in 13.43, Ana Kaplansky captured the 200 in 26.47 and Paige Pierson won the 400 in 1:03.10.
In the distances, defending CIF State Meet qualifier Prienna Chavez won three races. She was first in the 800 in 2:28.44, the 1,600 in 5:35.11 and the 3,200 in 12:29.05.
For the boys, defending CIF State Meet qualifier Andrew Parra won the 1,600 in 4:39.03 and Michael Briano was first in the 3,200 in 10:15.18.
Both boys’ hurdles races were won by Isayah Day-Vingara. He romped home in 16.34 in the 100 hurdles and in 44.60 in the 300 hurdles. On the girls’ side, Alisal took both.
The Baler girls won the 4×100 relay in 52.57 with a team of Lauren Shaw, Jacqueline Castillo, Richards and Pierson. The Balers also took the 4×400 relay in 4:18.63. That quartet included Zamaya Rivera, Lianna Preciado, Pierson and Kaplansky.
The Baler boys won the 4×400 in 3:37.52 with a squad of Ayden Lewis, Elijah Lutz, Ethan Jiminez and Jackson.
In the field events against Alisal, both Baler teams won all five competitions. In the weights, Riley Ostoja won the shot at 42-2 and was second in the discus, while Carter Campbell took the discus at 111-2 and was second in the shot.
Jordan Nelson cleared 5-8 to take the high jump and 39-10 in the triple jump and Maximilian Sanchez leapt 20-9 in the long jump.
For the girls, winners were Nola White, who threw the shot 29-7.5 and Brooklyn Green, who flung the discus 77-6.5. Daniela Orsetti jumped 4-10 to win the high jump, Richards took the long jump at 15-1 and Taylor Evans won the triple jump at a distance of 31-1.
In the meet versus NMC, Suguira sprinted 11.51 to win the 100 and was second in the 200, which went to Jacob Abi Najm in 23.06. Briano raced 2:08.18 to win the 800. Luis Perez Prieto won the 3,200 in 11:35.06 in a virtual tie with Parra, who clocked 11:35.09.
Day-Vingara again took both hurdles races, clocking 17.19 and 44.60.
On the girls’ side, Rylee Skow won the 100 at 12.95, with Richards second. Pierson won the 200 in 26.26, with Richards second once more. Kaplansky took the one-lapper in 1:00.50. Chavez won the 1,600 in 5:42.65.
Both Hollister teams won the sprint relays. The boys won in 43.81 with a team of Abi Najm, Suguira, Rhonin Sanchez and Marcus Dorn.
The girls won in 50.45 with a crew of Natalia Torres, Kyara Bazurto Sanchez, Skow and Pierson. Notably, the girls team included three sophomores, with Skow being even younger, just a freshman.
In the field events, Ostoja won the shot at 41-0, Gunner Loveless took the discus at 136-3, Nelson captured the high jump at 5-8 and triple jump at 38-2 and Maximiliano Sanchez won the long jump at 20-9.
On the girls’ side, winners included White in the shot at 31-11 and Genavee Sullivan with the discus at 92-8. Orsetti won the high jump at 5-0 and Skow flew 16-3 to win the long jump.
Upcoming dual meets include Salinas on April 8, Palma on April 16 and King City on April 22. The Pacific Coast Athletic League, Gabilan Division meet is on May 1 and the PCAL Masters meet is May 8.
The Central Coast Section semifinals are on May 16 and the CCS finals are on May 23.
Baseball improves to 7-1
The Balers won two thrillers to improve their league record to 7-1, tying them for first in the ultra-competitive PCAL, Gabilan Division. In the seven-team league, Carmel and the Balers are both 7-1, with Palma at 6-2 and Monterey at 5-3.
The week of March 24 started with a 10-0 rout of Salinas. In the road rematch, HHS trailed 4-2 into the top of the seventh but a magical six-run produced an 8-4 win.
On March 31, Hollister outlasted St. Francis 5-4 in nine innings and two days later, they smashed the Sharks 10-2.
The shutout of Salinas featured a masterpiece from pitcher Braden Barone, who tossed a six-inning, three-hit shutout with nine strikeouts. The contest ended one frame early, due to the run rule.
In the follow-up with the Cowboys, Barone was 3-for-3 at the plate and Max Cunningham went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
In the extra innings win over St. Francis, Barone pitched six innings and allowed seven hits and two runs, though just one earned run. He struck out 10 Sharks. The offense featured Evan Mendoza’s 3-for-3 night with two doubles and Nate Candelaria with two hits in four plate appearances. In the 12-2 rematch, Mendoza went 3-for-5 with two RBIs. Jordan Quezada, Ami Lopez, Candelaria and Eli Lovejoy each had two hits. Lopez was the winning pitcher, hurling seven innings, yielding just two runs and getting six strikeouts.
Softball team a league leader
The Baler softball team is also red-hot. Wins over Watsonville 12-2, Palma 8-4 and a road rout at Monterey by 6-0 have launched the red-and-white into a three-way tie for first place in the PCAL, Gabilan Division race.
Hollister, Salinas and Monterey are all 4-1, with Palma at 3-3 and Watsonville and Pacific Grove several steps back.
In the victory over the Wildcatz, Ashley Io had an amazing day at the plate, going 5-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBIs, including a homer. Madalyne Rodriguez went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and Avery Chavez was 2-for-3.
Against Palma, Isabel Gonzales went 2-for-3. The victory over Monterey was fueled by five runs in the first two innings. Freshman pitcher Sidney Esparza threw five innings, allowing just three hits and fanning eight batters.
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