Scott Smith wanted to see a little more pain coming from his players.
In the moments after an 8-1 loss to Carlmont High in last year’s Central Coast Section Division I championship game—denying the Haybalers a record-tying ninth consecutive section title—the longtime San Benito High softball coach felt the moment didn’t hurt his players enough.
“I just felt after the game there were not enough tears,” said Smith, who is entering his 14th season as the San Benito coach. “I would’ve liked to see us bleed a bit more. It was almost like we were OK with it.”
Smith definitely wasn’t OK with it.
“Not a day has gone by where it doesn’t bug me,” he said. “I have all these CCS championship shirts at home and I can’t wear them since we lost last year. I guess by most people’s standards getting to a CCS title game would be a success. But with the talent we had last year, it was a failure for us as a program, especially getting beaten the way we did. As a coach, I felt like I totally failed last aspyear. I think there’s more pressure on you when you have the talent to win, and I didn’t do a good enough job of developing our outfield or developing the fight in the entire team (to grind and persevere through tough situations). Last year was definitely 100 percent a championship or bust-type season. I’m worried we might not get back (to win it all).”
The last statement was not an indictment on the talent of this year’s team—Smith said he’s plenty excited about this year’s group—rather, it’s Smith’s ultra-competitive inner voice telling him that failure is always just around the corner.
And that is why Smith and the San Benito players enter the 2015 season as motivated as ever to win another CCS title. Smith has plenty of reason for optimism, including the return of the Big Three of Adriana Ibarra, Callee Heen and Suzy Brookshire, who all had a ridiculous on-base percentage of .800 or better last season.
“Those numbers are kind of crazy,” Smith said. “The big question this year is Callee and Suzy. Are they both going to have the offensive years like they did last year? It’s going to be tough to repeat.”
No kidding. All Heen did was hit .786 with a double-digit home run total, and Brookshire hit .686 while hitting several long home runs.
“So even if they both hit .500, we lose 200 points off the bating average as a team, which is substantial,” Smith said. “That makes me a little nervous.”
Speaking of nerves, Smith was apprehensive entering last year’s championship game against Carlmont, knowing any type of defensive miscue would give the Scots a chance to break the game open—which they promptly did.
“Our outfield was our Achilles’ heel somewhat, and fortunately for Carlmont, they hit it to the weakest part of our defense,” Smith said. “I thought the three balls that we dropped for errors (and led to three runs) should’ve been caught.”
In addition to the Big Three of Brookshire, Heen and Ibarra, other key returners include Britnee Rossi, Sarah Rickard, Isha Gonzalez, Victoria Silva, Hallie Fortney and Enedina Canales. San Benito usually has a strong crop of freshmen who make an impact, and this year is no exception.
Smith said he’s expecting good things out of Amanda Moisa, who will compete for the No. 2 pitcher’s spot. Smith said it was a bit foreign not entering this season as the defending Division I champion.
And he isn’t the only person in the program who is still upset about last year’s title game loss. Brookshire, who made a verbal commitment to play for Sacramento State before her sophomore season, wants nothing more than to lead the Balers back to the top of the CCS landscape.
“It still really bothers me walking around school, thinking about how I could’ve changed the outcome of that game,” she said. “I hate that feeling, to be honest.”
Brookshire is projected to hit No. 3 in the lineup, Heen at cleanup and Ibarra at the leadoff spot. One would be hard-pressed to find a better trio of hitters on one team in the section—“This will probably be our strongest offensive team we’ve had since I’ve been here for sure,” Smith said—but other keys to the season include an upgrade in both outfield defense and the intangibles, just to name a few.
“I think the only thing that separates us from our past teams is the past teams played with a lot of intensity and heart,” Brookshire said. “When Scott tells stories about them, I wish I could’ve played with some of them. They wanted it so bad, and that’s what we lacked last year.”
Simply put, Smith said the team lacked grit. If the Balers become stronger in terms of mental toughness, they’ll probably find themselves hoisting another CCS championship trophy come May.
