They’ve outscored their four league opponents 17-0 and are
headed for a first-place showdown at Notre Dame.
They’ve outscored their four league opponents 17-0 and are headed for a first-place showdown at Notre Dame.
The San Benito softball team defeafed visiting Salinas 7-0 Tuesday. Danielle Hernandez and Kristen Archuleta combined to toss a two-hitter against the Cowboys.
“It really showed the character of our team,” said coach Scott Smith. “Our goal is to play as hard as we can no matter who we are playing. We put pressure on them each inning.”
San Benito (11-2, 4-0 TCAL) will be at Notre Dame on Thursday. Game time is 3:45 p.m. Notre Dame (12-0, 3-0 TCAL) is the team to beat right now. But the Haybalers aren’t intimidated.
“They’re just another team,” said senior Jenny Maheu, who has played with many of the Spirit players during summer ball. “They have a lot of talent, but we have no doubt that we can beat them.”
Maheu, who was 2 for 2 with two walks, was one of the many players with hot bats Tuesday. After hitting three fouls and drawing two balls, she led off the game with a triple and scored on a wild pitch.
Archuleta brought in Julie Broyer, who had walked and advanced to third on the wild pitch, with a hit to left field.
Amy Baxter crushed a ball over the center fielder’s head for an RBI double to give the Balers their third run of the inning.
San Benito has had the habit of scoring early in the game this season. The three-run burst was the second best start for the Balers, who scored four in the opening inning against Burlingame.
“Jenny’s been setting the table for us all year,” Smith said. “When she can leadoff with a hit like that, it makes it that much easier for us to score.”
On Thursday, San Benito will again be without Liz Stewart, who is competing in New York with the drama team.
“She is probably one of the best first basemen in the area,” Smith said. “It will be tough to replace her there.”
Either Johni Kiesewetter or JT Temperino could fill the spot on Thursday, Smith said.
Kiesewetter made the most of her time in the lineup against Salinas by going 2 for 2 with a walk. She led off the sixth inning with a double. Temperino and Maheu both drew walks to load the bases with no out.
The Balers got one run on a ball hit by Nicole Burns to the left side of the infield. The Salinas catcher couldn’t hold on to the throw, and the run scored. But Salinas got out of the inning with three consecutive strikeouts.
San Benito scored three runs in the third inning. Maheu led off the inning with a walk and moved over to third base on consecutive groundouts. Archuleta had a base hit that dropped in front of the center field to score the first run.
Rachelle Barrientos hit a ball to right field. The right fielder rushed in and dove, getting a glove on it. But the ball trickled out, allowing two runs to score.
Salinas (4-10, 0-4 TCAL) got a hit through the left side of the field in the first inning. And the Cowboys got their other hit in the sixth inning on a ball that bounced behind first base.
Burns, the right fielder, picked up the ball and fired to Nicole Clay at home plate to get the runner trying to score from second base.
“We have had trouble hitting the ball all season,” said North Salinas coach Steve Roland. “We had too many strikeouts to be able to put something together. Because our basketball team went so deep this year, several of the girls didn’t come out. As a result, we have a real young team.”
Brittany Armbruster took the loss for the Cowboys.
“She was not real consistent with her spots,” Archuleta said. “We were just more disciplined.”
In the third inning, Salinas’ Susanne Riddleberg tried to bunt her way on base, but third baseman Nicole C. Smith was right there to field the bunt and throw to first for the out.
The Balers will probably face North Salinas ace Kim Reeder on Thursday. Reeder pitched a shutout in the 5-0 win at Live Oak on Tuesday.
“She hits her locations and throws hard,” Smith said. “The key thing for us is to be patient. She will try to get you to swing at a lot of balls.”
JV Note: The San Benito JV team (10-2) defeated Salinas 3-1 on Tuesday. Felicia Freitas had a leadoff hit in the fifth inning and stole second. Kassie Kearns knocked her in with a triple to tie the score. And Ari Romero singled to drive in Kearns.
In the sixth inning, Jessie Temperino had a double, and Freitas doubled her in.
