While the hits were much more plentiful
— eight total this time around — the No. 2 Balers allowed six
free bases, including five walks and one error, and seventh-seeded
Valley Christian remained a thorn in San Benito’s collective side
with a 4-2 victory on Saturday.
MOUNTAIN VIEW
The last time San Benito battled against the right-handed arm of Danny Davis, the Balers were no-hit, while a throwing error off a sacrifice bunt led to the only run of the game and a 1-0 Valley Christian win.
It was the season opener, but it was enough to show how costly even the slightest slipups can be against a West Catholic Athletic League team.
“You have to keep your mistakes to a minimum when you play teams of this quality,” San Benito manager Michael Luna said on Saturday, his Balers earning a rematch with Valley Christian in the Central Coast Section Division I quarterfinal at St. Francis High in Mountain View.
But while the hits were much more plentiful — eight total this time around — the No. 2 Balers allowed six free bases, including five walks and one error, as the seventh-seeded Warriors remained a thorn in San Benito’s collective side with a 4-2 victory on Saturday.
“It’s just one of those things that happens,” San Benito starting pitcher Darin Gillies said. “It always comes down to one inning with that team, and it just wasn’t our day today.”
The loss ends San Benito’s (21-7) season in the Division I quarterfinals for the third straight year, while the CCS playoffs will feature an all-WCAL semifinal round for the third straight year between Mitty, Serra, Bellarmine and Valley Christian (19-11).
“I don’t know what it is about Valley Christian,” said Luna, whose Balers have lost six straight to the Warriors since falling in the Division I championship to Valley Christian in 2007. “The tough thing is that we’re getting closer every single time.”
So close, in fact, the Balers actually had the winning run at the plate in the bottom of the seventh on Saturday. But Davis and the Warriors — left fielder Cody O’Connell, especially — prevented the key hit from ever happening, as San Benito stranded seven runners on base, five of whom were in scoring position.
“Like our coach said, it was just a few missed opportunities to get the job done,” said senior Ryan Sabbatini, who blasted an opposite field, wall-ball triple in the fourth that pulled the Balers to within one run.
He was left stranded at third base, however.
“If we would have capitalized in those situations,” Sabbatini said, “it would have been a tie game, and maybe we would have won the game.”
After falling behind 2-1 in the second, though, San Benito had several chances to reclaim the lead, including four runners left on in the second and seventh innings — three of whom were in scoring position — and two more runners left on in the fourth and fifth innings, both of whom were on third base.
“We had some missed opportunities offensively, with a number of guys in scoring position,” Luna said. “But we couldn’t get that one hit that may have made a difference in the game.”
The Balers did get a hit in the first inning when Nick Acosta lifted a 2-2 offering into center field, scoring Ricky Garcia from third to put San Benito up 1-0 early. It would have been 2-0 when Isaak Ramos smacked a line drive to the left-center field gap, but O’Connell made a diving catch while running to his left, preventing at least one run from scoring.
“That left-fielder saved them …” Luna said.
Gillies, meanwhile, who pitched a five-inning no-hitter against Valley Christian in the season opener but was pulled in the sixth after reaching his pitch-count limit, found some trouble in the second inning on Saturday when he walked four straight batters, leading to a pair of Warrior runs and a 2-1 deficit.
“I felt really good that first inning, but I came out (in the second inning) and I just didn’t have a feel for anything,” Gillies said. “I couldn’t get anything done. It’s disappointing because you feel like you let your team down a little bit.”
While Valley pushed its lead out to 3-1 in the fourth when San Jose State-bound Trevin Craig hooked an RBI double down the left-field line, Sabbatini responded in the home half with his opposite-field triple that scraped the top of the wall and scored Gillies from first base.
“I just wanted to get on base and have my teammates get me over,” Sabbatini said. “Coming into the inning and you’re losing, you just want to get runners on. I went up there thinking fastball, and I tried to go with it. He was pitching away the entire game.”
Davis, who is also San Jose State-bound, may have had arm troubles, Sabbatini said. But the senior hurler showed little to back that claim up, striking out five before being relieved with one out in the seventh for Steven Thompson.
“We all heard his shoulder might be hurting,” Sabbatini said. “But we still have to come out and try our best because he’s a great pitcher, even if he isn’t healthy.”
Valley had an answer each time the Balers pulled back to within one run, though. Following Sabbatini’s triple in the fourth, the Warriors got a leadoff single from Shawon Dunston in the fifth, who advanced to second on a fielder’s choice and later scored when O’Connell’s grounder to short resulted in a fielding error.
“Valley’s a really good team, and you’ve got to hand it to them,” said Gillies, who will return to a team next season that is expected to graduate at least 10 seniors.
“We really felt, and the coaches and players really felt, that this was our year,” Luna said. “Unfortunately it didn’t happen, and that’s the game of baseball.”
