After loss at Valley Christian, Haybalers rebound with 8-6 win
at St. Francis of Mountain View, 7-3 win against Monterey
HOLLISTER
After suffering a tough loss to Valley Christian last week in San Jose, the San Benito High baseball team rebounded this week with a pair of wins over St. Francis of Mountain View and Monterey.
The Haybalers are 2-1 overall and will visit Carmel on Saturday before opening the Mike Hazlett Tournament in Santa Clara next week.
On Tuesday, behind a grand slam and five RBIs from Ricky Garcia, the Haybalers put up a seven-spot on St. Francis in the fifth inning en route to an 8-6 victory.
Garcia also had an RBI double in the game, while Kyle Zozaya followed the grand slam in the fifth with a two-run homer of his own, plating Tyler Provost.
“That was a big win for us,” San Benito manager Michael Luna said. “One, beating a West Catholic (Athletic League) school is always a big and they’re always a good team.
“But coming back after that tough loss at Valley Christian, that said something about the team right now.”
The Haybalers then came right back on Thursday and followed Tuesday’s big win with another victory. Behind a three-RBI, two-double day from Ramiro Chapa and a 2-for-3 performance from Zozaya, San Benito built a five-run lead before allowing a run and defeated visiting Monterey 7-3 in Hollister.
“And they’re used to winning,” said Luna of Monterey, which has won the Monterey Bay League six years in a row. “I thought that we may have a letdown after beating St. Francis. But for the most part I thought our intensity was as good as it should have been.”
Darin Gillies made his 2009 debut on the mound for San Benito, hurling two innings and allowing two hits. He walked one.
Bryan Granger (4IP, 3R, 2H, 1K, 0BB) and Provost (1IP, 3K, 0H, 0BB) finished the game in relief.
The ‘Balers put all the runs they would need on the scoreboard in the bottom half of the second inning after Chapa connected on a bases-clearing double down the right-field line. Chapa then later scored on a wild pitch.
In the bottom of the fifth, San Benito made it 5-0 when Steve Cabral hit a single past a diving Monterey second baseman that caught the lip of the grass and went into right field, scoring Zozaya from second base.
Monterey’s Devon Elliot hit a three-run homer in the following frame, bringing the Toreadors to within two runs. However, San Benito got two runs back in the bottom half of the sixth when Chapa hit a double with one out, and Monterey walked the next three batters in a row, with Zozaya pocketing the RBI.
Spencer Brann then hit a sacrifice fly to score Ricky Garcia and make it 7-3.
Luna felt his team could have scored more runs against Monterey, “but then again,” he said, “they are a good team.
“I’m very happy with the way we’re starting to play.”
San Benito will see Monterey again on Monday night when they open the Mike Hazlett Tournament with the Toreadors at Washington Park in Santa Clara.
First pitch is at 7:30 p.m.
