For the second consecutive season, Hollister High has had a
player go down to injury in the first inning of the first game of
the Watsonville Tournament.
Call it “The Curse of Watsonville.”
For the second consecutive season, Hollister High has had a player go down to injury in the first inning of the first game of the Watsonville Tournament.
Last year it was pitcher Dani Hernandez, who missed most of the season because of a major knee injury. On Saturday in the Balers’ opening game of the year, which was against Aragon, Hillary Williams rounded first after a first-inning single and sprained her right knee.
Trainer David Tari took a look at it today to examine the knee and an MRI might be pending for the third baseman, one of the top players on the team.
“It felt worse on Sunday than it did on Saturday,” said Williams. “It’s a sharp pain. I went to break down when I was rounding first. I want to take care of it right away.”
Adding insult to injury, the Balers dropped the game to the Dons 4-3 in eight innings as the International Tiebreaker System was implemented. The Dons came up with two runs in the top of the eighth, while the Balers plated a run in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI double by Amy Baxter. It was Baxter’s second double of the game. Rachelle Barrientos knocked in one of the other Baler runs.
In the second game, the Balers edged Capuchino 1-0. The Balers’ only run was in the third inning when Jenny Maheu doubled and was knocked in by a Shelbi Dillon single.
Maheu had two hits in the game, while Megan Smith had a double. Dani Hernandez worked the first three innings, while Alyssa Baker pitched the final four frames to get the win.
The tournament was setup strangely, but the Balers were declared winners of their respective pool by a tiebreaker procedure after Capuchino defeated Aragon.
That put the Balers against Monte Vista Christian and Hollister blanked the Mustangs 2-0. All two runs and all three of the Balers’ hits were in the sixth inning. Maheu singled, stole second and eventually scored on a passed ball. Kim Dabo tripled and was doubled in by Baxter, who enjoyed a big day at the plate. Hernandez, who was tagged for a loss in the opener, was the winning pitcher to even her record at 1-1.
The Balers (2-1) host a good Westmont team in a non-league contest Thurday at 3:45 p.m. before this weekend’s Circle of Champions Tournament at Twin Creeks in Sunnyvale.
