Darin Gillies allowed one hit while striking out 11, Trevor
Fabing was 3 of 4 at the plate, and the San Benito Haybalers
silenced visiting Palma 6-0 on Saturday in Hollister to extend
their winning streak to seven games.
HOLLISTER
Darin Gillies allowed one hit while striking out 11, Trevor Fabing was 3 of 4 at the plate, and the San Benito Haybalers silenced visiting Palma 6-0 on Saturday in Hollister to extend their winning streak to seven games.
Furthermore, the Balers (8-2) remain the only undefeated team in the Tri-County Athletic League at 6-0, and currently control a two-game lead in the loss column over both Palma and Gilroy.
Saturday’s shutout victory was made possible by the starting pitcher Gillies, who retired the first 13 batters he faced and didn’t allow a hit until there was one out in the fourth inning.
It was the only hit he’d allow, of course.
Gillies tossed 90 pitches, faced 24 batters — just three more than the minimum — and allowed two walks, both of which came during the seventh inning.
“That one hit was a solid base hit, but nobody else got a good swing on him,” San Benito manager Michael Luna said of Gillies. “His fastball and changeup were really dominant.”
With the junior righty shutting down the opposition, San Benito didn’t need much in terms of run support to pick up the win. But with eight hits to its name, San Benito took advantage of six Palma errors and defeated the Chieftains for the fifth time in its last seven games.
The Balers scored two runs in the third inning, a rally that was started when Justin Schlie reached base on an error. Fabing then singled to left field to move Schlie into scoring position, while Ricky Garcia then hit Schlie home when he connected on a grounder to the shortstop, resulting in a throwing error that moved Fabing to third base.
Still with no outs, Mark Hurley then hit into a double play, which allowed Fabing to score from third.
San Benito tacked on three more runs in the fifth, sparked by an RBI double to left field from Hurley that scored Fabing from second base.
Hurley then advanced to third when Isaak Ramos grounded out, and later scored on a wild pitch.
With two outs and no one on in the fifth, San Benito’s Spencer Brann then drew a base on balls and Kyle Vallejo delivered a bloop single to left field, moving Brann into scoring position. Brann then stole third base, and the catcher’s throw to the bag resulted in an error when the ball traveled into left field, allowing Brann to plate San Benito’s fifth run of the game.
The Balers made it 6-0 one inning later when Schlie again reached by error, then advanced to third base following a Fabing single to right field. Garcia then trailed with a ground out to second base, allowing Schlie to score from third.
Schlie had two runs scored in the game, while Fabing’s three-hit day included two runs scored as well.
“But he hit the ball solid all four times,” said Luna, noting Fabing’s fourth at-bat was a line out to third base.
The Balers, who enjoyed seven days off last week until their game against Palma on Saturday, will enjoy another break from league play. San Benito, which will play in next week’s Easton Sports Easter Classic in Las Vegas, won’t pick up TCAL action until April 13 when it will visit Salinas for its second game against Palma.
TEAM
PALM — 000 000 0 — 0 1 6
SANB — 002 031 X — 6 8 1
