San Benito High School graduate Anthony Synegal (Class of ’04)
and the Gonzaga Bulldogs baseball team saw its season come to a
close last weekend at the NCAA Division I Tournament, but not
before the former Haybaler went 4-for-11 with four RBI and two home
runs in three games played; Gatto, Barrientos, Fata continue
softball at college level
HOLLISTER
San Benito High School graduate Anthony Synegal (Class of ’04) and the Gonzaga Bulldogs baseball team saw its season come to a close last weekend at the NCAA Division I Tournament, but not before the former Haybaler went 4-for-11 with four RBI and two home runs in three games played.
Synegal, who transferred last season from San Jose City College, helped lead the Bulldogs to a 36-18 overall record this year, not to mention the program’s first ever West Coast Conference title, first trip the NCAA Division I Tournament since 1981, and a No. 19 national ranking, according to Baseball America.
Batting .331 (58 of 175) for the Zags this season, including eight home runs – six of which came in WCC play – and 36 RBI, Synegal started in 50 of the Bulldogs’ 54 games.
A 5-foot-10, 201-pound senior who is listed as a catcher, outfielder and designated hitter for Gonzaga – he played catcher for the Balers – Synegal was also recently named first team all-WCC.
And the SBHS grad flexed his muscle in the opening game of the NCAA Tournament in the Fullerton Regional in Southern California. Synegal connected on a sole home run in the fourth inning to give the Bulldogs a 9-8 lead en route 19-10 victory over No. 29 Georgia Southern University – Gonzaga’s first postseason win since 1980.
However, the Zags dropped its next two games and were eliminated from the postseason.
Losing a 7-4 decision in its following contest to Cal State Fullerton, which is ranked No. 2 nationally, Synegal did blast a two-run homer in the fifth that knotted the game at 4-all, while in Sunday’s elimination game, Synegal provided an RBI single in a losing effort as the Zags fell 9-7 to the University of Utah and finished the tournament with a 1-2 record.
Gatto, Barrientos, Fata continue softball at college level
The West Coast connection Canisius College is employing with its softball team seems to be paying off. Despite being located in Buffalo, N.Y., the Griffins boast eight players from California, including Hollister’s Lizzy Gatto (SBHS ’08) and Rachelle Barrientos (SBHS ’06), each of whom finished with a top-five batting average on the team this season.
Barrientos hit .294 (32 of 109) and Gatto .273 (35 of 128), and Canisius qualified to its third straight NCAA Softball Tournament appearance this past season.
Although it lost 3-0 to No. 11 Ohio State in the first round before falling 7-0 in an elimination game to Kentucky, the Griffs (26-25 overall, 9-7 MAAC) were champions of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament when it trumped Niagara 9-0.
Both Barrientos and Gatto were named to the all-tournament team.
Gatto’s teammate at San Benito, Elena Fata (SBHS ’08), recently wrapped up her freshman campaign at UNLV, where she batted .255 (25 of 98) for the Rebels (31-21 overall, 7-9 MWC).
UNLV also qualified for the NCAA Softball Tournament, but lost 2-1 to No. 25 Fresno State in the first round; Fata drove in the Rebels’ lone run. Later in the tournament, UNLV fell 3-1 in 13 innings to Long Beach State to complete its season.
Gino Fata, UCSD complete season in NCAA Div. II bracket
Gino Fata, Elena Fata’s older brother and also an SBHS graduate, recently wrapped up play in the NCAA Division II National Championship for the UC San Diego baseball team in North Carolina.
Despite being ranked No. 1 after compiling a 38-14 record, including a 27-9 mark in conference, the Tritons lost last week to No. 21 Dowling 3-1. San Diego rebounded in an elimination game to upend West Chester 8-6 last Tuesday, and later avenged its loss to Dowling with a 13-1 rout on Wednesday. But the Tritons lost in the national semifinal game to No. 3 Emporia State on Thursday, 5-3.
San Diego trailed 3-1 but scored runs in the sixth and ninth innings to tie the game, but fell in the bottom of the ninth on a two-run walk-off homer.
Fata batted .333 (2 of 6) in eight games played with three RBI this season. San Diego finishes its year with a 41-15 record.
Klauer, Canez, SJSU fall short of tournament
After compiling 41 wins and earning the Western Athletic Conference regular-season title, the San Jose State University baseball team was left out of the NCAA Division I tournament recently.
The team consists of a pair of SBHS graduates in Karson Klauer (Class of 2006) and Breyon Canez (Class of 2006). Klauer batted .263 (41 of 156) with 31 RBI and four homers, while Canez was .333 (6 of 18) for the Spartans.
