In just its second year as a program, the Hollister Blackjacks have become one of the elite traveling club teams in the greater South Valley area.
The Blackjacks 12-and-under team has won its last two tournaments, going 11-0 in the process. And the Blackjacks are doing it all with homegrown talent, as their entire roster comes from Hollister and other cities in San Benito County.
Then again, it should surprise no one that any Hollister softball program thrives, given the talent and success the San Benito High softball team has experienced over the years. The Blackjacks have the next great generation of players who will grace a San Benito uniform, with top-notch coaches and a strong organization from top to bottom.
The Blackjacks are led by club director Andrew Barragan and board member Elva Ayala, and have top-notch coaches in Scott Smith—the longtime San Benito coach who serves as the club’s president and hitting instructor, and Kim Reeder, the former Notre Dame-Salinas great and Ohio State standout who does full-time coaching with Central Coast Athletics but also serves as the personal pitching coach for Drew Barragan, the director’s daughter who is the club’s 12-and-under ace pitcher.
“(The success of the Blackjacks) has a lot to do with a dedicated staff and having Andrew and Elva backing them,” Reeder said. “Scott Smith has a big impact because at least half the girls on the team go to him for hitting lessons, and you know they’re being taught the right way.”
And there’s no doubt Reeder has made a huge impact on Barragan, who pitched almost every inning in the team’s last 11 victories. During the run, Barragan has a not-so-shabby 45 strikeouts over 21 innings.
Armed with a 52 mph fastball—most pitchers at the 12-and-under age level throw between 40 to 48 mph—Barragan keeps hitters off-balance with a knuckle-curveball that travels 8 mph slower than her fastball, and a split-changeup that is about 18 mph slower than her fastball.
“We’re trying to get Drew’s split-change to a minus-15 (mph slower), a minus-12 from her fastball,” Reeder said. “Drew has the talent, but the biggest thing I love about her is her tenacity. She has an attitude that if a hitter gets her once, they won’t get her the second time around. That’s what helps her dominate in the circle.”
At the Halloween Bash on Oct. 18-19, Hollister ran roughshod over the field, outscoring their six opponents by a combined margin of 47-9. The Blackjacks received their only close call in the championship game, a 5-4 win over the Salinas Storm, who came in as the tournament favorite.
Elite traveling softball teams have to learn to grind things out, as the majority of their games are jam-packed on a Saturday-Sunday back-to-back schedule. In the biggest tournaments, teams can play up to 10 games over a two-day stretch, testing the players’ mental and physical makeup.
“Having that mental toughness is the biggest difference with us from this year to last year,” Andrew Barragan said. “Last year our teams would make it to the semis and fizzle out. The mental preparation wasn’t there, but with another year of experience and growth, these girls have a taste for what it feels like and what it takes to win a championship.”
At the U.S.S.S.A. All-Star Invitational on Nov. 15-16, the Blackjacks ran the table again, outscoring five opponents by a combined margin of 44-6. And Hollister wasn’t just beating inferior competition—it beat a strong USA Elite team 4-1 in their final pool play game and two games later in the finals held off a different USA Elite squad, 5-4.
Thanks to the durable Barragan—she went the full seven innings—and the clutch hitting of Kaitlyn Iler, who delivered the game-winning run with a sacrifice-fly in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Blackjacks prevailed.
Hollister’s potent lineup includes leadoff hitter Kendall McPhillips, a catcher who had a robust on-base percentage of .800 and hit .650 in the last two tournaments; first baseman/outfielder Marisa Angulo, who had two RBIs at a pivotal moment in the All-Star Invitational title game; first baseman Nina Taylor, a precocious 10 year old who hit an amazing .775 during the fall season; and shortstop Alyssa Ito, who made some spectacular defensive plays.
“Alyssa made some plays that you just don’t see from your normal 12 year old,” Barragan said. “She would lay out for a ball over the middle like Derek Jeter, and that takes a special player to consistently do that.”
Other top players include Jessica Enriquez, Mia Villegas, Gia Felice, Kailin Mendez and Claire Cagnacci. Barragan said he was particularly impressed with the team in the All-Star Invitational championship game.
The Blackjacks had what looked to be a commanding 4-0 lead before USA Elite rallied to tie the game in the fifth inning. That’s when the players had a meeting in the circle—without their coach, something Barragan appreciated.
“Sometimes the players have to know the situation and talk to each other to make sure everyone is on the same page,” he said. “It was good to see them all take a leadership role knowing it was an important time in the game.”
Hollister got out of the jam without further damage, setting up Iler’s game-winning sacrifice fly in the bottom half of the inning. Barragan said he’s particularly excited about the prospect of having the entire starting lineup return for the 2015 spring and summer season.
“A good group of these girls have been playing together since they were 9 years old,” Barragan said.
The program’s ultimate goal is to qualify for the Premier Girls Fastpitch (PGF) National Championships, which feature several of the best traveling clubs in the country. The Blackjacks will be in good hands with their ace pitcher, who has been straight-up dealing—no pun intended.
Like all successful pitchers, Barragan mixes up her pitches well, changes speeds liberally and has a voracious appetite to improve.
Barragan uses the same motion for her fastball as she does for her knuckle-curve, making her ultra tough to hit. The knuckle-curve looks like a fastball but drops suddenly before reaching the plate.
Every Tuesday, Reeder travels to the Blackjacks facility to give lessons to Barragan, who is also a standout basketball and soccer player at Rancho San Justo.
Reeder, who was also a standout soccer player, thought she was going to earn a scholarship in soccer instead of softball until the very day Ohio State made her an offer to play softball.
“Both her dad and I believe when you throw a curveball and an off-speed pitch like she does, your chances of getting a scholarship is significantly better for softball than another sport,” Reeder said.
“She thinks she’s going to Duke for basketball, if she had her choice right now. She’s taller than most of the pitchers I coach for her age, and she’s got good muscle tone. And she’s a perfect fit for being a pitcher, because even though softball is a team sport, you can change the game with every pitch and have a greater impact than any other position. It’s all on your shoulders, and Drew loves to take on that challenge.”
