After two days of rainouts earlier this week, the Gilroy High
and San Benito baseball clubs finally crossed paths on the diamond
for the first time this season and added another chapter to one of
the more heated rivalries around.
GILROY
After two days of rainouts, the Gilroy High and San Benito baseball clubs finally crossed paths on the diamond for the first time this season and added another chapter to one of the more heated rivalries around.
A six-run third inning provided just enough cushion for the Balers to pull out a 9-5 victory over the Mustangs under a clear blue sky Friday afternoon in Gilroy.
“I just have to catch my breath,” GHS manager Johnny Ramirez said. “I told these guys, ‘Hey, this was Round 1.’ They got the standing 8-count on us but they haven’t knocked us out. They got the first one, now we have to come back and get the second one.”
In a game that featured more stare downs and dirty looks than runs, the Balers (14-4, 10-0 TCAL) tightened their grip on the top of the Tri-County Athletic League standings and now hold a three-game edge in the loss column over the second-place Mustangs (12-7-1, 8-3 TCAL).
“It’s to be expected,” Balers’ manager Michael Luna said of the teams’ distaste for one another. “We get off the bus and into the dugout and both teams are looking at each other and saying stuff. That’s the way it has always been. It’s a great, great rivalry. You want to play in those games.”
The game showcased both sides’ No. 1 pitchers on the bump, Gilroy’s Taylor Chris and San Benito’s Darin Gillies, and two lineups that like to swing the bat.
Gillies struggled out of the gate, surrendering an RBI-double to the league’s leader in both of those categories, Eric Vegas, to put the Mustangs up 1-0.
However, the junior, aside from “too many walks” for his liking, was able to minimize the Mustangs’ effectiveness with their bats.
“Something special about this team is that we are ready to play no matter what,” Gillies said. “We could have 10 rainouts in a row and it wouldn’t matter. Today was a great team win. What I like about this team is that one guy makes a mistake and another is there to pick him up and that’s really great to see.”
Chris cruised at the outset, striking out four Balers through the first two innings, but ran into some trouble and a bit of bad luck in the third inning.
The senior retired the first batter of the frame and appeared to sit down Justin Schlie via a strikeout, but the ball nicked off of catcher Jordan Dexter’s glove and rested just shy of the backstop. Schlie beat the throw to first, reaching on the dropped third strike.
A seemingly harmless play at the time quickly turned into a disaster for the Mustangs and a spark for the Balers.
A trio of two-RBI base hits by Mark Hurley, Ricky Garcia and Gillies produced six runs for the Balers and a 6-1 lead.
“We were fortunate to put that six-spot up in the inning,” Luna said.
The momentum-shifting inning put a damper into the enthusiastic Mustang faithful, and when the Balers tacked on three more runs in the top of the sixth, the outcome seemed inevitable.
“We have to minimize the big innings,” Ramirez said. “We have enough thunder in our lineup to come back. We just have to relax.”
But it wouldn’t be Gilroy-San Benito without a little scoreboard drama, and the Mustangs made sure they made things interesting in the sixth.
“I told my team and the coaches that every time we play here something strange happens,” Luna said. “And sure enough …”
After Gillies walked the first two batters of the inning, he was relieved by Kyle Vallejo, who didn’t fair any better.
Vallejo proceeded to walk the next two hitters, give up an RBI-single to Brent Newton and walk another Mustang. And just like that, Gilroy was within four runs at 9-5.
However, that was as close as the Mustangs would get as Bryan Granger faced five batters in the seventh to seal the win.
“We just wanted to hit the ball and get people on base,” Dexter said. “We all came out and really wanted to play today. It just didn’t work out.”
Chris finished his outing with nine strikeouts and six earned runs in five innings pitched. Gillies allowed three earned runs and fanned six over 6-plus innings of work.
“Take away that six-run inning and we win the game,” Ramirez said. “It’s one of those things where you can’t wait to see what happens in Round 2. Welcome to the Gilroy-San Benito rivalry.”
Both teams are in action Saturday with the Balers at North Salinas and the Mustangs hosting Salinas.
No make-up date has been set for Tuesday’s game that was postponed due to the rain.
