San Benito baseball opens season today against Palma
Hollister
In the Tri-County Athletic League this year, it may just turn into an arms race.
When the league increased their schedule from 12 to 18 games this year, where the San Benito Haybalers will play three games a week eight out of the remaining nine weeks, coach Michael Luna was perfectly content.
Other coaches would perhaps fear exhaustion or a lack of pitchers, but San Benito will house plenty of depth and an ample amount of arms for a three-games-a-week league schedule that kicks off today, Tuesday, against Palma.
“I was thinking to myself, that’s fine with me,” said Luna of the push from 12 to 18 games. “I know we’ve got some good arms.”
Luna has 10 good arms, to be exact, supplying San Benito with a strength that most TCAL teams will likely envy as the season progresses.
With three games slated for this week already, Zach Canez will get the start in the season-opener against Palma Tuesday, and Miles Sanchez will get the nod on Thursday at Palma.
Although Luna did not say who the starter was for Saturday at Alisal, he does have Darin Gillies, Jacob Eichhorn, Steve Cabral, Nathan Hopkins, Ronnie Fhurong, Tyler Provost, Kyle Zozaya and Bret Furtado, the team’s only lefty, available to pitch.
“Our pitching is way ahead from last year,” said Luna, now in his fourth season with San Benito. And with the exception of Gillies, a freshman, all of the pitchers have one or two years of varsity experience.
Gillies, though, made his high school debut on Saturday in the third and final game of the Mike Hazlett Tournament, and helped lead the ‘Balers past host Wilcox 10-0 in a shortened five-inning affair.
Gillies threw three innings of shutout baseball, allowed one hit and struck out five, including the side in the second inning.
“You could tell he was a little nervous, but after he got into a rhythm, he wanted the ball and he was confident,” Luna said of Gillies after the game. “He was outstanding.”
Gillies’ only hit allowed didn’t come until the third inning, and at that point, San Benito had already pocketed eight runs behind a pair of 2-run homers from Brian Haggett and Canez.
Haggett was 2-for-3 with two RBI, while Canez was 3-for-3 with three RBI. Provost and Nick Acosta each added an RBI for San Benito, and Dane Lamanna was 1-for-1 with two walks and three runs scored.
The reliever Eichhorn preserved the shutout with two innings of no-run ball and struck out three, all in the fourth inning.
“Our hitting is going to come along,” Luna said. “We have too many athletes for us not to hit.”
Luna is seeking consistent and quality at-bats, as he believes his squad is not swinging at pitches they perhaps should be swinging at.
But Luna said he saw improvement Saturday, as the ‘Balers banged out 10 hits in what was their final preseason game, and are looking to continue that trend against the usual TCAL suspects in Salinas, Palma and Gilroy.
Said Luna, “We’re not as aggressive as we should be. We’re taking too many fastballs for strikes … We’re starting to get better hacks, but we’re still a ways away.”
With 13 returning players, including all-league selections in Canez, Haggett, Zozaya and Fhurong, the ‘Balers will have depth at many positions for another postseason run.
Defense is a strength, Luna said, and with strong pitching, San Benito has allowed just eight runs through five preseason games, where five of those runs came in the season opener against Valley Christian.
If San Benito can average a single run scored in each inning this year, a goal for them as the league season starts, they’ll likely have the numbers in their favor.
But after compiling a 29-9 record last season, and finishing runner-up to Valley Christian in the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs, as Luna said, they won’t be surprising anyone.
“There’s a bulls-eye on our back and people are gonna come after us,” he said. “But with the way we’re pitching … I like our chances.”
