The San Benito Lady ‘Balers are the first team in CCS Division I
history to win three straight titles, making their run all the
sweeter
Hollister
The San Benito Lady ‘Balers are in a class all by themselves.
In the history of Central Coast Section Division I softball, only two teams – North Salinas in 2002 and 2003, and Monta Vista in 1987 and 1988 – have won back-to-back section titles.
But no one, not a single team in D-I, had won three straight until San Benito did it last Saturday.
Go ahead. Say it. It’s okay.
“Definitely a dynasty,” said senior Lindsey Clay. “This has never happened before, so it’s pretty rare.”
Armed with timely hitting, air-tight defense, and a hurler on the hill who manager Scott Smith calls the best pitcher out there, the Lady ‘Balers continue to answer the expectations and are entering territory that is usually reserved for private powerhouse schools.
Currently, Mitty is in the midst of a four-title streak at the D-II level, while Notre Dame in Salinas has won 11 D-III championships in the last 13 years.
“The key thing for the girls is that they’ve bought into the philosophy,” Smith said. “They are a unique group.
“They worked really hard. I don’t think there is a team in the CCS that works harder than us. We’ve worked really hard to get there.”
Remaining atop the Large School Division is no easy feat, obviously, but having a team that has matured through the ranks together certainly helps. Starting with the Hollister Heat, a core group – from Rachel Maheu to Elena Fata, from Bri Romero to Lizzy Gatto – have grown up together and played together through their senior years in high school.
With shutdown pitcher Marisa Ibarra on the mound, San Benito has created a near-perfect mix of offense, defense and base running, not to mention a dynastic chemistry that has led to three straight titles.
“We’ve all been playing softball for so long, we’re just a great team with great athletes,” Maheu said. “I’ve been playing with most of the seniors since I was eight-years-old. We don’t have to re-learn a different team every year. We all get along well and play well with each other.”
Said Smith, “I think they just really trusted each other. No one felt like they had to carry the load. We beat teams from the middle of the order, from the bottom of the order and from the top of the order.”
Smith called the most recent CCS title one of the sweeter ones, especially figuring in the NIKE Faster to First tournament in Huntington Beach to open the year.
In hindsight, some of the players felt playing in the Top-50 tourney down in Southern California was a great experience.
But for a team that went 32-3 and 29-3 in their two previous seasons, opening the 2007-08 campaign with a 2-3 record at the Huntington Beach tourney was perhaps difficult to swallow.
“I think in the long run, Huntington Beach was a good experience because we played a lot of good teams down there,” said Fata, who will be attending UNLV next year on a partial ride to play softball. “I think in the beginning of the season there was a lot of doubt … But we started the league (season) off strong. We knew then that we were gonna be all right and that we’d still have a chance.”
Said Clay, “All my teammates were worried about doing well and getting a good start. Towards the end, we were more focused, more relaxed.”
Considering the expectations were sky-high after winning two straight titles, coupled with the Huntington Beach tournament providing a sour taste to start the season, San Benito succeeded under perhaps its toughest conditions yet.
After the SoCal tourney, the Lady ‘Balers finished their season on a 25-1 mark, including a league season where they went 12-0 and became the first softball team to complete the Tri-County Athletic League season undefeated.
“We had a real good pitcher (Ibarra) that threw us ground balls and it was a total team effort,” Fata said.
In fact, in those 12 league games, nine teams were shut out, while 20 opponents in all over the course of the season failed to plate a run against the Lady ‘Balers.
“I think it’s unbelievable and amazing that we got to do this and be the only team that has done that in our history,” Maheu said. “Wow, we actually did it. We actually won three in a row.”
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Power Numbers
2007-08: Record – 28-4 overall, 12-0 TCAL; 216 runs scored, 35 against; No. 1 seed, defeated No. 9 Evergreen Valley 8-2, No. 5 Carlmont 5-0, No. 6 Gilroy 8-3.
2006-07: Record – 32-3 overall, 11-1 TCAL; 206 runs scored, 38 against; No. 2 seed, defeated No. 7 Monta Vista 2-1, No. 6 Gilroy 13-7, No. 1 Carlmont 2-1.
2005-06: Record – 29-3 overall, 10-2 TCAL; 208 runs scored, 42 against; No. 3 seed, defeated No. 6 Gilroy 7-0, No. 2 Carlmont 7-0, No. 12 Watsonville 1-0.
