Dustin Rovella tossed an impressive complete game, eight-inning,
three-hit gem on Saturday, in which the senior starter allowed one
walk and zero runs, and did so in all of 91 pitches en route to a
1-0 victory over Wilcox in the CCS Division I quarterfinals.
SALINAS
Questions abound. Questions answered.
Although who would fill in for an injured Darin Gillies in the postseason seemed to be the popular question toward the end of the regular season, after the hard-throwing starting pitcher went down with a broken wrist in late April, it appears the San Benito coaching staff always had an answer.
Just give the ball to Dustin Rovella.
Last-year’s-closer-turned-this-year’s-starter answered the rest of the questions.
“I’ve got some big shoes to fill,” Rovella said of his mindset entering Saturday’s quarterfinal game against No. 4 Wilcox (26-8), a game in which could perhaps have not gone any better for the senior hurler, or the Balers, for that matter.
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How about a complete game, eight-inning, three-hit gem — yes, eight innings — in which the senior starter allowed one walk and zero runs, and did so in all of 91 pitches en route to a 1-0 victory?
Rovella may have surprised even himself with that performance.
“I just had to work hard and do my job for the team,” he added.
Coupled with an RBI double by Daniel Arevalo in the eighth inning — the only extra-base hit of the entire game — the Haybalers survived a pitcher’s duel between Rovella and Wilcox’s Nick Morehead, and advanced to the third round for the first time in four years on Saturday with their gutsy win.
They will see a familiar foe in the Division I semifinals on Wednesday in San Jose.
Playing league rival Salinas for what will be the fourth time this season, the No. 5 Balers (21-8) will square off against the No. 8 Cowboys (19-9-1) at San Jose’s Muni Stadium on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
The Cowboys defeated No. 16 Carlmont (19-9) on Saturday by a 2-1 margin, although have dropped two of three meetings with the Balers this season.
The winner will advance to Saturday’s Division I title game, which San Benito last made an appearance in 2007.
“He’s been solid his whole career,” San Benito interim manager Billy Aviles said of Rovella’s superb pitching performance on Saturday, which saw the senior start the game, throw middle relief and close it out over the course of eight innings.
Aviles had warmed up two relievers late in the game, but never made a move to the bullpen to pull Rovella.
“I just wanted them hot, just in case. But it was never a thought,” Aviles said. “There was no need for that. He was cruising.”
Poor base running by the Chargers had a way of ending several scoring threats throughout the day as well. Catcher Jacob Tonascia threw out one runner at second base in the first, while Matt Vallejo made a catch in center field and then doubled up a runner at second in the third for an 8-6 double play.
In the seventh, another Wilcox base runner was picked off at first, while in the eighth, with the Chargers trailing 1-0, Tonascia caught Brandon Huxtable stealing second base.
Said Rovella, who actually hit the very first batter he saw on Saturday, “… After that I settled down, threw strikes and let the defense do the work.”
Of his three hits allowed, only one hit left the infield on Saturday.
“Huge. Huge. Huge,” Arevalo said of Rovella.
“A great performance,” he added. “We had confidence in him. He had confidence in us and he did a heckuva job.”
Lasting past the quarterfinal round had become difficult for the Balers in recent years. That is, until Saturday in Salinas, where Rovella’s right arm, San Benito’s error-free defense and one swing off the bat of Arevalo lifted the Balers to a one-run win.
“I was just looking for a high fastball and I got it,” said Arevalo, who also connected on a two-run homer during San Benito’s 6-2 victory over No. 12 Santa Teresa (13-13) last Wednesday.
Rovella (8IP, 3H, 0R, 1K, 2BB, 1HBP), Wilcox’s Nick Morehead (5IP, 4H, 0R, 8K, 0BB, 0HBP) and reliever Garrett Ciuk (3IP, 3H, 1R, 3K, 1BB, 0HBP) pitched well enough that it appeared neither team would score, however.
“We knew it was going to be a battle,” Aviles said. “We knew it was going to be a tough, low-scoring game with Morehead on the mound.”
But following seven scoreless frames between the two teams on Saturday, San Benito finally broke through in the top half of the eighth when Craig Slibsager singled up the middle. Later advancing to second base on a Matt Vallejo sacrifice bunt, Slibsager was then pinched for Robert Soto, who scored easily on Arevalo’s RBI double to the left-center field gap.
“He was a great pitcher,” Arevalo said of Morehead, who equaled Rovella’s efforts and turned Saturday’s quarterfinal into a pitcher’s duel. “But when they changed pitchers (for Ciuk), I wanted to take advantage.
“I wanted a high fastball and I got it.”
It was the only run the Balers would get in the game, but it was also the only run they would need. Rovella came back out to pitch the bottom of the eighth inning, and, although he gave up a single to right field, he never allowed the Chargers to knot the game.
“He came up big today,” the injured Gillies said of Rovella. “He kept us in the ball game the whole time and stepped up really big for us.”
And Rovella appeared to have no problem filling the shoes of the sidelined Gillies. As last year’s closer on the varsity, he often followed Gillies and No. 2 Bryan Granger on the mound anyway.
Experiencing that late-in-the-game pressure as a closer helped Rovella on Saturday, while tossing just 91 pitches ensured he would last the whole game.
“I wanted to stay in,” Rovella said of the latter innings. “I had gone that far and I wanted to finish it.”
SANB — 000 000 01 — 1 7 0
WLCX — 000 000 00 — 0 3 0
WP: D. Rovella
LP: G. Ciuk
