San Benito alone in first after surviving Live Oak comeback to
win 4-3
Hollister – San Benito had better get used to these nailbiters. As the Haybalers march toward the Central Coast Section baseball playoffs, games like Wednesday’s contest against Live Oak are likely to become the norm.
In a down-to-the-wire thriller, San Benito saw its four-run lead nearly vanish as pesky Live Oak fought back to put the winning run on base in the seventh. But the ‘Balers put the clamps down just in time to preserve a 4-3 victory, a win that, by day’s end, gave them sole possession of first place in the Tri-County Athletic League.
“These close games like this, it’s really important to get it done,” San Benito third baseman Justin Andrade said. “It was pretty intense. Right down to the finish, it was competitive.”
Coupled with Palma’s loss in the conclusion of a suspended contest with Salinas, the ‘Balers (20-4, 13-2 TCAL) improved their chances of winning the league championship and the resulting boost in the CCS seeding. But for a while, it looked like it very easily could have been San Benito that dropped out of first place.
After a pair of runs in both the third and fourth innings gave the ‘Balers a 4-0 lead, the Acorns’ bats came to life in the fifth. Live Oak (10-13, 7-8 TCAL) got its first two batters on base with a throwing error and a walk, bringing the top of its order up with no outs. Leadoff hitter Brenden Flaherty knocked a solid double to the leftfield wall, scoring pinch runner Stephen Smith. Once sophomore Matt Cummins followed with a double into the rightfield corner, driving in Mike Sorci to cut San Benito’s lead to 4-2, the ‘Balers and starter Breyon Canez found themselves on the ropes.
With No. 3 hitter Kyle Mosbrucker coming to the plate with runners at second and third and no outs, Live Oak looked to be in business. But Canez, pitching from the wind-up, whirled around and fired a perfect pickoff throw to Klauer to catch Cummins straying off second.
“It was a big momentum play,” San Benito head coach Michael Luna said. “We executed it to perfection.”
One pitch later, Canez got Mosbrucker to fly out to right and, with Flaherty attempting to tag and score from third, San Benito right fielder Josh Torrise unleashed a strike to catcher Travis Ross to turn potential disaster into a huge swing in favor of the hosts.
“They had the momentum. They were hitting Breyon pretty good,” said Luna, who was just about to pull Canez before the pickoff. “The game could’ve easily been tied. Maybe they take the lead. But we’re still up 4-2 and we’ve got our No. 1 on the bump for the following inning.”
After sophomore Zach Canez relieved his older brother to start the seventh, Live Oak showed it wouldn’t succumb to a season sweep easily. After twice falling to San Benito in close contests earlier this season, the Acorns used a walk, a ‘Balers’ throwing error and a single by Cummins to put runners at the corners with one out. Mosbrucker pulled Live Oak within 4-3 by ripping an RBI single to left. The designated hitter represented the winning run, but Canez recovered to freeze Acorns clean-up hitter Nick Bonfiglio for a strikeout and then put the finishing touches on the win by inducing a groundout from Chris Barber.
“Big. That’s a good word,” said Ross when asked to describe the importance of the win for San Benito. “This game was going to make or break the rest of the season.”
Both teams flirted with scoring early, but strong pitching and defense kept zeroes on the scoreboard through the first two innings. The ‘Balers opened the game with singles by Torrise and Breyon Canez, but came away empty handed following a double play and a flyout. Barber led off the Live Oak second with a sharp single and, after an errant pickoff throw moved him to second, looked primed to score on a flair to center by Cameron Willis. But San Benito left fielder Kevin Medeiros raced in to make a diving catch. One batter later, it was Andrade who made a stellar defensive play, ranging far to his right to knock down a James Johnson shot down the line. The ‘Balers’ third baseman jumped to his feet and fired across the diamond just in time to catch Johnson at first, again preventing Barber from scoring.
San Benito finally got on the board in the third when the top of its order again came through. After Torrise walked to open the inning, Canez gave the ‘Balers two runners in scoring position by doubling to right. Rather than tempt its fate with Klauer at the plate, Live Oak elected to intentionally walk the San Benito slugger, loading the bases. ‘Balers sophomore Brian Haggett followed with a groundball that scored Torrise, but also turned into a double play. After Ross was hit by a pitch, San Benito designated hitter Sky Valenzuela drove in Canez with an RBI double to center, pushing the ‘Balers’ lead to 2-0, but the Acorns prevented further damage by nailing Ross at the plate with a relay thrown from second baseman Flaherty.
The ‘Balers scored two more in the fourth when Johnson, the Live Oak starter, lost control of what had been an effective off-speed pitch. Andrade reached on a two-out walk, and moved around the diamond on three wild pitches to eventually score. On the final errant toss, Eddie Gomez, the Acorns’ catcher, attempted to catch Andrade at the plate by taking the ball off the back-stop and firing back in the direction of Johnson at home, but the ball got away. Torrise, who reached for the third time on a walk, raced around third and scored on the error.
Cummins, the Live Oak left fielder, said his team paid for being on the wrong end of several decisive plays.
“It’s a tough loss,” said Cummins, who led the Acorn’s offense with his 2-for-4 day at the plate. “We were right there, but a couple of mistakes come back to hurt you in the end. It’s just the little things.”
San Benito recorded eight hits to Live Oak’s seven. Torrise again proved an able table-setter for San Benito, going 2-for-2 with two runs and a walk. Breyon Canez helped himself record the victory by finishing 3-for-3 with a double and a run.
With Palma’s 6-4 loss to Salinas in the suspended game, San Benito resumed the top spot in the TCAL standings. But the Chieftains followed with a 4-2 win in the second game Wednesday to remain right on the ‘Balers heels at 10-3 in league play.
San Benito now will be assured a league championship if it wins its remaining three games. The ‘Balers return to the field tomorrow by visiting Sobrato.
“We’ve got to take care of business,” Luna said. “While we’d like to get help from other teams, (but) we’re in control of our destiny.”
