Steve Cabral draws a bases-loaded walk in the ninth inning and
supplies San Benito with a 3-2 win Tuesday in Hollister, a 16-1
record in the TCAL
HOLLISTER
It’s practically becoming routine for San Benito and Gilroy to deliver upon some sort of late-in-the-game, nail-biting moment each time they meet up, and Tuesday’s battle in Hollister was once again no different.
Unable to decide a victor in regulation, the two rivals fought all the way to the ninth inning before San Benito loaded the bases for Steve Cabral after Trevor Fabing singled on, Ricky Garcia was hit by a pitch and Kyle Zozaya reached on an intentional walk.
But with two outs and dealing with a full count, Gilroy relief pitcher Jordan Holler’s offering to Cabral missed just inside, leading to a walk-off walk on a borderline-ball four and a 3-2 San Benito victory.
The inside thigh-high fastball was so close, though, many were left questioning the game-deciding call afterward.
Strike three or ball four?
“It was close, but in my mind it was inside,” Cabral said. “It’s a pitch I probably could have swung at, but instinct hit me – ball. I just took it.”
Gilroy catcher Lucas Fortino had a different perspective, however.
“I’m not saying that because I want to win, but that was a strike,” Fortino said. “It was on the black, but it was a strike. It’s been a strike all game.”
San Benito manager Michael Luna didn’t say whether he thought ball four was, in fact, ball four, but he believed Holler’s 3-2 pitch was close enough.
“It’s too close,” Luna said. “He’s got to swing. It sure looked like a pitch he has to swing at in that situation.
“But it was a great playoff game.”
With a 7-6 victory earlier this season that saw the Haybalers plate three in the final frame, only to be immediately followed by an 11-6 win in eight innings the next day, San Benito has won six straight contests over Gilroy, which continued an unfortunate trend with Tuesday’s close loss.
Playing in 11 one-run games this season, the Mustangs have won just two.
“That’s a great team right there, and we’ve taken them to the limit every single time,” Gilroy manager Clint Wheeler said. “To come up short one more time, it hurts.”
Perhaps making the game even more difficult to swallow, San Benito’s first and only lead of the game didn’t come until the final result in the ninth.
“I don’t think we played that well,” Fortino said. “We battled with them, but we put up two runs in nine innings. I know we can hit better than that.”
Gilroy held a 1-0 lead after the top of the first when it capitalized on a pair of San Benito miscues, as Holler reached by a throwing error and later plated the game’s first run when Rafael Garcia’s hit resulted in a fielding error.
The lead was short-lived, however, as San Benito tied the game at 1-all in the following frame when Cabral connected on an RBI single that scored Ricky Garcia, who reached base on a hit-by-pitch.
But the Mustangs reclaimed the lead in the top of the second after it put runners on the corners. Taking advantage of a Brandon Elam walk as well as San Benito’s third error of the game, Derek Engen lofted an RBI single into right, connecting with an opposite field hit that plated Elam from third, giving Gilroy a 2-1 lead through two innings of play.
The Mustangs, though, which would later be tagged out on a play at the plate later in the second inning, would not score another run in the game.
“I’m not sure,” Fortino said. “I think we came out with a little bit more fire than we had through the rest of the game, but stuff happens.”
Held to just four hits, Gilroy couldn’t quite crack San Benito’s pitching staff, as Luna used Bret Furtado (1IP), Jacob Eichhorn (2IP), Kyle Vallejo (2IP), Bryan Granger (3IP) and Darin Gillies (1IP) in Tuesday’s nine-inning affair.
“I wanted to see these guys throw against quality hitters,” Luna said, “and I thought they threw really well.”
Hollister’s bats, meanwhile, had a difficult time cracking Gilroy starter Taylor Chris, who worked six innings and allowed six hits, but prevented the ‘Balers from ever stringing enough hits together to build any sort of lead.
Chris didn’t allow the equalizer until the home half of the sixth, his final inning of work.
“That’s the type of pitcher we’re gonna see in the playoffs,” Luna said of Chris.
With runners on second and third and one out, ‘Baler Isaak Ramos skied an infield chopper that carried enough hang time to allow Cabral to score from third base, and knot the game at two runs apiece.
Although both teams had its chances in the extra innings – San Benito had two on and two out in the eighth, while Gilroy put a runner at third in both the seventh and ninth frames – neither team was able to plate the go-ahead run until the deciding bottom-of-the-ninth battle.
“My catcher said it was a strike,” Wheeler said. “I’d sure like to still be playing.
“But we’ve been struggling lately hitting. I’m not so much mad at today. That was our 11th one-run game we’ve played, and we’ve only won two. It’s one thing or another and we just can’t find a way to win those games.”
At 10-6-1 in the Tri-County Athletic League, 16-12-1 overall, Gilroy’s stock could be much higher if just a handful of those close ball games went its way. Instead, the Mustangs will wrap up its regular season on Thursday when it hosts Alisal, and will most likely be competing with Salinas for a better seed in the Division I playoffs.
“We’ve got to check everything we do individually,” Wheeler said. “What can I do better? What can I do a little finer? What can I do to execute? We’ve just got to do it better, so we can get a guy across early.”
The ‘Balers, meanwhile, could very well be closing in on its second straight No. 1 seed in the postseason with a win at Everett Alvarez Friday, and will most likely be up against Valley Christian for that prized position.
“I’m confident in our pitching. I’m confident in our defense as well,” Luna said. “But our offensive execution, we’re still not where we should be 29 games into the season. We should be a lot closer than where we are.”
Twenty-nine games into the season, though, San Benito (16-1 TCAL, 24-4-1), at the very least, is in an enviable position.
“It was huge,” Cabral said of the win over Gilroy. “It’s always big to beat Gilroy, especially on Senior Day. But they’re a tough team and I give them a lot of credit for staying in it and a lot of credit to our team, too.”
GILR – 110 000 000 – 2 4 1
SANB – 100 001 001 – 3 9 3
WP: D. Gillies
LP: J. Holler
