The Hollister High softball team knows Milpitas hurler Stephanie
Park well.
The Hollister High softball team knows Milpitas hurler Stephanie Park well.
The Balers defeated Park, then a freshman, two years ago in the semifinals of the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs 5-4. Park, now a junior, had some revenge in the second round of the Watsonville Tournament when she shut out the Balers 1-0.
The two teams renew acquaintances this Wednesday in the first round of the CCS Division I playoffs at the Salinas Sports Complex at 5 p.m. The Balers (20-9) are seeded 5th and the Trojans (14-11) are seeded 12th. Milpitas won the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League El Camino Division with a 10-2 record. Doing the math, that meant they were 4-9 in non-league games.
“We lost some close games early in the season,” said first-year coach Letta Meyer. “Don’t let our record fool you. We’ve been picking it up lately and have been on a roll. Our biggest strength is when we play together, we really get in sync as a team. We’ve been stressing that all year.”
The Balers have a few things going for them that that didn’t have that warm April 19 day when the Trojans won a tight one. One, they’ll have starting shortstop Kim Dabo, who was off on a Junior Olympic qualifier that day; two, they’ll have pitcher Alyssa Baker at their disposal. Baker was out that day with an injury; three, the Balers have nine more Tri-County Athletic League games under their belt, most of them pressure-packers.
Playing in one of the toughest leagues in the country should give the Balers the edge. Still, they’ll have to find a way to push runs across anyway they can.
“It so often comes down to being able to score that one run,” said Meyer, echoing a familiar song. “We lost a lot of 1-0 games, including the game against Mercy-Burlingame which eliminated us at Watsonville. One crucial play can do it.”
Meyer lists shortstop Heather Goodman and second baseman Kassie Rotter as two of her top players. Goodman bats leadoff, while Rotter bats third.
The winner advances to the quarterfinals Saturday morning against the victor between Menlo-Atherton and Independence. That game is at the Salinas Sports Complex at 10:30 a.m.
