Three games, three locations, all to determine who would grab a
piece of the Tri-County Athletic League pie.
Hollister – Three games, three locations, all to determine who would grab a piece of the Tri-County Athletic League pie.
San Benito took care of its own work with a 6-1 win Thursday over North Salinas to grab the first slice of the league title, then learned of Gilroy’s struggle with its nemesis Alisal and of Salinas faltering against Palma. In the end, the Mustangs scratched out a 6-5 win in nine innings to join the Haybalers as league champions, while the Cowboys let a 7-4 lead slip away and saw its title hopes disappear in an 8-7 loss to Palma.
“Back to back champs, that’s pretty special,” said San Benito coach Michael Luna, whose team won the title outright a year ago. “It’s always special to win the title, especially when we’re not the favorite. Salinas was the favorite throughout the year.”
But for the Cowboys, who had dreams of their first title in 17 years, the season becomes a disappointment as they finish tied for third with Palma. Meanwhile, Gilroy struggled against fifth-place Alisal – which handed the Mustangs their most surprising loss of the season – before scoring on a sacrifice fly in the ninth to claim a share of its first title in 16 seasons.
San Benito, Gilroy and Salinas all figure to be a part of the Division I Central Coast Section playoffs when the seeds are announced Saturday. It was unclear what the tie-breaker would be to determine which co-champion enters the playoffs as the league’s top seed.
But with its tough non-league schedule, along with the demanding TCAL slate, the ‘Balers figure to be among the top eight seeds, which would earn them a home playoff game when CCS begins Wednesday.
“This league got us ready for CCS,” said junior second baseman Brian Haggett, who belted his fifth home run of the year Thursday. “Palma, Salinas and Gilroy are all good teams. Every game was hard.”
San Benito (26-8, 9-3 TCAL) got busy early with leadoff hitter Justin Andrade hitting a double. Kolton Klauer followed with an apparent RBI double, but on appeal he was called out for missing first base. The run still counted and the ‘Balers held a 1-0 lead.
In the second, San Benito added on. Kyle Zozaya led off with a walk and Kevin Burley reached on a one-out walk before Ronnie Fhurong delivered a two-run single. Kevin Gonzales followed with a single and Andrade’s single plated Fhurong. Klauer then hit a sacrifice fly and the ‘Balers held a 5-0 lead.
Haggett wrapped up the scoring for San Benito when he deposited the first pitch of the third inning over the fence in right field to make it 6-0.
Zach Canez was strong on the mound over his four innings of work, extending his scoreless streak to 17 innings. Miles Sanchez and Kevin Medeiros pitched the final three innings to secure the victory.
North Salinas’ lone run came when Ryan Ralston led off the fifth with a home run.
Andrade finished 3-for-3 with a pair of hustle doubles. Klauer drove in a pair of runs and Burley reached base three times, walking once and also singling.
North Salinas 000 010 0 – 1 5 0
San Benito 141 000 0 –6 7 0
Papurello, Lopez (5) and Alarron. Canez, Sanchez (5), Medeiros (6) and Zozaya. WP – Canez, LP – Papurello.
2B – Andrade (SB) 2. HR – Ralston (NS), Haggett (SB).
