Look who’s back in first place in the Tri-County Athletic League
– the Hollister High nine.
Look who’s back in first place in the Tri-County Athletic League – the Hollister High nine.
The Balers took care of business with a 7-1 defeat at Palma Tuesday, while Live Oak was stunned by Gilroy 6-5 at Gilroy. That means the Balers (12-4, 7-2) are tied with the Acorns (12-5, 7-2) for first with six T-CAL games left on the proverbial slate. The two teams meet on April 30 in Hollister.
“It could very well come down to that game,” said Baler coach Neal Andrade. “But, hey, Salinas can beat anybody. They beat us. They have some sticks and (Ryan) Mueller can pitch any of the big games.”
The Balers had a big game out of Eric Diaz Jr. Diaz pitched six innings to run his record to 5-2. He was also 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI. Diaz missed last Thursday’s loss to Salinas due to illness.
Other hitting stars for the Balers were Anthony Synegal, who had a single and a double and Ricardo Cosio, who had two hits and an RBI.
Defensively, Josh Badillo made a fine catch in center in the first inning to save a run. The Balers won without the services of starting shortstop Nick Ramos. Ramos, who already had tweaked one hamstring, has apparently strained the other.
“We need to get Nick some rest,” said Andrade. “He’s a senior and he wants to play and I understand that. But we have a stretch here where we can rest him a little.”
The Balers host Palma on Friday then venture into the Cupertino Lions Tournament on Saturday at 4 p.m. where they face Hillsdale at PAL Stadium in San Jose. The rest of the pool play consists of a game Monday at Monta Vista at 3:30 p.m. and a big encounter with Mitty on Wednesday at PAL at 7 p.m.
JV score: The Baler JV’s, who have hammered teams in the past, were on the wrong end of a 17-4 Tuesday vs. the Chieftains at home. Chris Etheridge took the loss. Gabe Gaitan had the Balers’ only hit of the game and drove in two runs. Scott Mead had an RBI as did Brian Rossi, who plated a runner on a sac fly.
