No. 3 San Benito sees season end in 5-1 loss to No. 6 Santa
Teresa in CCS quarters
San Jose – The San Benito baseball team knew this type of game all too well. After all, the majority of the ‘Balers’ contests had gone this way. One team gets superb starting pitching, timely defense and handles the bat with authority, while the other finds itself in a hole early and succumbs in a lopsided decision.
San Benito played the role of the enforcer so many times this season, riding that formula to a dominant regular season that included the Tri-County Athletic League championship, and a blowout victory in the first round of the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs.
But on Saturday, the ‘Balers found themselves on the wrong end of that equation. With its powerful offense bottled up from the start and its defense experiencing a hiccup at the worst possible moment, No. 3 San Benito saw its season end in a 5-1 loss to No. 6 Santa Teresa at PAL Stadium.
“We didn’t have our ‘A’ game today,” ‘Balers head coach Michael Luna said afterwards. “We didn’t even have our ‘B’ game. We didn’t play well, especially offensively. But that’s baseball. Baseball is a cruel game.”
Three days after scoring the most runs in a Division I playoff game since 2002 in defeating No. 14 Oak Grove 18-1, San Benito was held to just two hits – none after the second inning – in a stunning reversal. The ‘Balers (24-5) had their chances against Santa Teresa starter Eric Mattos – getting the leadoff batter on base in the first three innings and putting runners in scoring position in the first four – but uncharacteristically, San Benito came away with nothing to show for its effort.
Meanwhile, after gliding through the first two innings, ‘Balers starter Breyon Canez (10-1) gave up a solo run in the third, and then quickly found himself in more trouble in the fourth.
After Saints designated hitter Alex Kalogrides smashed a ground-rule double that hopped the leftfield fence to start the inning, first baseman Ryan Heaton knocked an RBI single to right to push the score to 2-0. Santa Teresa’s Matt Randleman hit a sharp, one-out single to left, and then both Randleman and Robby Randleman, running for Heaton, advanced a base on a wild pitch to leadoff hitter Mattos.
San Benito seemed on the verge of getting out of the inning with no further damage done when Canez whirled around and unleashed a pickoff throw to second baseman Karson Klauer that caught Matt Randleman off the base. The baserunner broke for third and Klauer followed him down the line, looking to secure the easy run-down at third base.
But Robby Randleman, who had been at third, saw his brother in dire straits and took off for home plate. In a snap decision, Klauer changed his mind and threw home to try to prevent the run from scoring. But the throw skipped past catcher Travis Ross and rolled all the way to the backstop, allowing both runners to score to put San Benito in a 4-0 hole.
Luna said the swing from executing a pickoff throw to perfection and then seeing his team’s deficit double, knowing all the while that Mattos was only gaining steam on the hill, was a decisive blow.
“We weren’t able to play catch right there,” Luna said. “I thought the play should’ve been at second and third. It’s a tough call by Karson. … 4-0 against that quality pitcher makes it awfully tough.”
Mattos retired nine of the next ten batters he faced, and gave way to closer Kyle Bellows in the seventh. The Saints’ starter (8-0) threw six shutout innings, striking out two and walking four, while using an effective off-speed pitch to keep the ‘Balers off balance throughout.
“This was the best I’ve seen him,” Santa Teresa head coach Steve Beaulieu said of Mattos. “I knew we needed to keep it a low-scoring game to have a chance against this great team.”
San Benito threatened to score early in the game, but couldn’t capitalize on its opportunities. Josh Torrise got the ‘Balers started with a leadoff single in the first and moved to second on a two-out walk by Brian Haggett, but Mattos induced a groundout to get out of the inning.
In the second, designated hitter Sky Valenzuela got San Benito’s only other hit with a leadoff single to right, and once Kevin Medeiros followed by drawing a walk, the ‘Balers looked primed to take the early lead. But Mattos and his defense came up with the outs they needed. After nailing San Benito baserunners at third and home plate on consecutive fielder’s choices, the Saints (21-6) still faced a second-and-third situation with two outs. Torrise hit a sharp grounder to second that took a high hop, but Santa Teresa’s T.J Sarmiento corralled the ball and calmly threw to first to end the inning, a play Beaulieu called the turning point in the game.
“The confidence in the dugout just skyrocketed,” the Saints’ head coach said.
Several ‘Balers related that, even though their offense was held in check in the early stages of the game, they remained confident that they would put a rally together to close in on Santa Teresa.
“We’re a high-scoring team, so we’re expecting a big inning to come around, but it just didn’t come,” Valenzuela said. “The dice just didn’t roll our way today.”
San Benito finally got on the board when Zach Canez and Torrise reached on infield errors and Canez came around to score in the seventh. When Klauer was hit with a pitch with two outs, San Benito found itself one batter from bringing the tying run to the plate. But the Saints clinched their semifinal berth when Bellows, the reliever, picked Torrise off at second, marking the end of a frustrating day for the ‘Balers.
Asked whether he thought his team was out-executed, San Benito center fielder Jacob Boyd said, “Out-executed? That’s a perfect word for that. We didn’t really have to execute for our past couple of games because we’d been blowing people out.”
Both teams took a six-game winning streak into the game. During their streak, the ‘Balers had scored 11 or more runs four different times. Saturday’s contest marked San Benito’s season-low in run production and the ‘Balers had been held below four runs just twice.
“We weren’t as disciplined at the plate as we had been lately,” Luna said, “and that was part of it.”
Breyon Canez pitched four innings, allowing six hits and four runs, while striking out three and walking four. After being beaten for the first time this season, the senior walked off the field wishing his team could face the Saints again.
“It sucks. We thought we had these guys. Unfortunately, it had to be us today,” Canez said. “We’re a better team than them. … We just didn’t put it all together today.”
Santa Teresa advanced to play No. 2 Bellarmine, a 3-1 winner over No. 10 Archbishop Mitty, in the semifinals on Wednesday.
Despite all his team’s success on the season, Luna said he and his players know the ending puts a sour taste in everyone’s mouth.
“I’m as guilty as most coaches,” Luna said. “You’re always judged on what you do in the playoffs. … That’s unfair, but that’s what most coaches do. We had a great year, but they’re only as good as your last game. I’m sure it’ll be with me for a while and I’m sure it will be with the players, too.”
Said Boyd: “It’s tough. It’s tough. We came in with our expectations of winning the CCS championship. Nothing else. We just got outplayed.”
