Even with their coach in Texas, the Balers proved they are the
best in CCS
Winning the Central Coast Section title last Saturday was
bittersweet for San Benito High Softball Coach Scott Smith.
In the six years that Smith has coached the Balers, he had
guided them to the CCS finals on four different occasions only to
see his squad come up a buck short in its quest to win its
first-ever softball championship.
Even with their coach in Texas, the Balers proved they are the best in CCS
Winning the Central Coast Section title last Saturday was bittersweet for San Benito High Softball Coach Scott Smith.
In the six years that Smith has coached the Balers, he had guided them to the CCS finals on four different occasions only to see his squad come up a buck short in its quest to win its first-ever softball championship.
This time, the perennial bridesmaids became the brides thanks to their 1-0 ousting of Watsonville in the finals last Saturday at PAL Stadium in San Jose. Unfortunately, the only thing that was missing was the head coach that helped get them there.
Smith was in Texas attending his daughter’s wedding – but was much more nervous about the game.
“I was devastated that I couldn’t attend the game,” said Smith, who transferred the head coaching duties to Mike Maheu for the day. “I threw up five or six times that day and kept looking at my watch wondering what was happening.”
Clearly no game was important enough to miss walking his daughter Shelby down the aisle, but that doesn’t mean that Smith wouldn’t have liked seen the date of the wedding changed.
“They planned it months before but, believe me, I pushed to change the date,” said Smith, who never told any of his players about his family commitment until their win in the semifinals over Carlmont.
As the championship game went on Smith kept looking at his clock that was set to Texas time while he calculated the time change. As soon as the game ended in the eighth inning, Smith’s cell phone rang.
It was Maheu on the other end.
“He never would call that quickly. Then he said, ‘Dude, I’m going to let the girls tell you what happened’,” Smith said. “I knew right then that we must have won.”
Although Smith missed the most important game of the year, it was a snapshot of all the other games he had coached – a combination of solid defensive play combined with outstanding pitching by freshman Marisa Ibarra and clutch hitting when it counted most.
The Balers championship season included 29 wins against only three losses. San Benito High didn’t allow a single run in the playoffs and closed out the season with seven shutouts in a row. Clearly, 2006 was a case of the best team winning it all.
“It was long overdue for the high school,” Smith said Tuesday. “I’m ecstatic about it. The words ‘CCS champions’ keep popping up into my head. As the season went on it became clear that the difference with this team was the chemistry. Everybody liked everybody and that was really it. It became crystal clear to me as the season went on.”
After going through seven innings of scoreless ball, the Balers won the game on a one-out double by Rachel Maheu to left-center that was followed by a single up the middle by Elena Fata.
“Rachel had gone 0-2 in the game, both on strikeouts, and was pretty emotional. Her dad, (Mike Maheu) was considering pulling her out but chose to keep her in.”
The substitute coach made another move that worked out in the Balers’ favor when he signaled Fata to fake a bunt and when the defense moved in – swing away.
“Mike and I have coached together for so long,” Smith said. “He always asks me why I do certain things. He has a good grasp of the game. He knows our strengths and weaknesses. They didn’t miss a beat without me there.”
And neither did Ibarra, who tossed a one-hitter to cap off her seventh consecutive shutout. In all, the freshman pitcher struck out six batters to wrap the season up with a 0.60 ERA (see related story).
“It was kind of surreal,” said junior Danielle Scibuola, a non-starter who watched Ibarra work her way through the Watsonville lineup time and time again. “We worked really hard all year. I was happy to see us get the title for the school and happy for the seniors.”
Watsonville’s lone hit of the game came in the fourth inning off the bat of Noemi Torres, who pitched for Watsonville.
