San Benito forced to play catch-up all game, can’t mount
comeback in late stages and fall to Bellarmine 8-6 in quarterfinal
matchup
San Jose
Even with his team carrying an 8-3 lead into the bottom frame of the seventh inning, Bellarmine manager Gary Cunningham told his team that’s it’s not over just yet.
“Coach Cunningham told his players in the bottom of the seventh that you may think five runs is enough,” said San Benito manager Michael Luna, who spoke with Cunningham after the game. “The last thing he said to his team was, ‘They’re not gonna go away.'”
The top-seeded Haybalers, fresh off an 11-1 win over No. 16 Silver Creek last Wednesday in which they hit three home runs, certainly made the game interesting in the seventh when Brian Haggett connected for a three-run homer to cut the Bells’ deficit.
But No. 9 Bellarmine, which had lost the last two meetings against San Benito, staved off the ‘Balers for an 8-6 victory Saturday in the quarterfinals of the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs.
San Benito completes their season with a 25-6 record.
After Haggett’s three-run shot put the ‘Balers within two runs an nobody out, the atmosphere noticeably changed in the dugout, Luna said.
The San Benito manager even envisioned a Roy Hobbs-like moment in the seventh inning from Kevin Burley, who hit a grand slam against Silver Creek and even went deep against Bellarmine in the fifth inning when he connected for a solo home run that plated the first run for the ‘Balers.
But the hot-hitting senior, who was just one of 10 seniors on this year’s team, didn’t get a chance to hit the walk-off homer.
“We put the tying run at the plate and that’s all you can ask for,” Luna said. “To get the tying run at the plate after being down by five shows a lot about the team’s character and their never-give-up attitude.
“After the game I was so proud of them.”
The previous time the two teams met, on March 22 at the Crown Classic, San Benito trailed Bellarmine 6-1 after two innings. But a late surge saw the ‘Balers score 10 more runs to steal an 11-7 victory.
On Saturday, however, at PAL Stadium in San Jose, the ‘Balers scored all six of their runs in the last three innings, but couldn’t prevail in any comeback effort after falling behind 6-1.
“The eight runs we gave up tied for the most runs we gave up all year,” said Luna, whose San Benito squad allowed eight runs on two previous occasions against Everett Alvarez and Valley Christian. “We gave up 12 free bases and that’s what it came down to.
“To give up 12 free bases, it’s tough enough as it is. But when you’re playing a quality team like Bellarmine, it’s almost impossible. We did give ourselves a chance, even though we we’re playing catch-up the entire game.”
The ‘Balers allowed six walks and hit six batters, and quickly trailed 4-0 after just two complete innings. Burley’s homer in the fifth cut it to 4-1, but the Bells scored two more in the following frame to push it to 6-1.
In the sixth, San Benito responded when Haggett singled on and later scored on a wild pitch at the plate, while Spencer Brann hit an RBI single later in the inning that plated Kyle Zozaya.
Bellarmine, though, picked up two crucial insurance runs in the seventh inning that brought the Bells’ lead to 8-3, and put them just out of reach of San Benito after Haggett hit his second homer in as games in the seventh inning.
Luna said playing catch-up all game forced the ‘Balers to play a “station-to-station” ball game, where they weren’t allowed to take chances, apply hit-and-runs or squeeze attempts.
“That’s what we like to do,” he said. “You’re limited to what you can do offensively (when playing from behind).”
San Benito’s forte – its pitching – struggled against Bellarmine, as Luna sent five hurlers to the mound. Zach Canez (1 1/3 IP, 4 R, 2 H, 3 HBP, 2 BB), Jacob Eichhorn (3 1/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 2 BB), Miles Sanchez (1 1/3 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 1 HBP), Darin Gillies (2 R, 2 BB, 1 HBP) and Steve Cabral (1 IP, 1 BB) all threw on Saturday at PAL Stadium. Said Luna, “Our strength the entire year has been our pitching and unfortunately it wasn’t there on Saturday.”
The Bells (20-15) will play No. 4 Mitty (23-10) Wednesday in an all-West Catholic Athletic League semifinal.
No. 2 Serra and No. 3 Valley Christian will play in the opposite semifinal contest.
With 10 seniors graduating this year, including Burley, Canez, Haggett, Sanchez, Ronnie Fhurong, Nathan Hopkins, Greg Huth, Abel Jacquez, Dane Lamanna and Bryan Scott, the ‘Balers were poised to be playing in that final game.
Nonetheless, Luna said his team should hold their heads high and be proud of their accomplishments, which included a No. 1 seed as well as a third straight league title, not to mention a mark of persistence.
“Those are some of the things they should take away,” Luna said. “When we were shaking hands after the game, the first thing Coach Cunningham said was, ‘You guys never go away. You never go away.'”
BP 310 002 2 – 8 7 0
SB 000 012 3 – 6 7 0
