This is the moment of truth. The Central Coast Section postseason.
Everything the San Benito and Gilroy baseball and softball teams have done this season has been geared toward the 11-day competition that begins today. And those teams have already accomplished plenty.
But come first pitch in the playoffs, nobody is going to be looking back at what happened two months or even one week ago.
It’s all about what happens from here on out. For better or for worse.
After witnessing a banner regular season for local action on the diamond, I got to to thinking. Are these teams ready for the primetime? And, not to burst the bubble, but what if they aren’t?
What if the high point of their seasons already happened? Or what if it’s just not meant to be?
Take the San Benito baseball team. The Tri-County Athletic League champion. 23 wins under its belt. The ‘Balers host Oak Grove in opening-round action today as heavy favorites. How could they not be be favored? They’re undefeated at home this year and they parlayed their outstanding regular season into the No. 3 seed in the Division I playoffs.
But what if No. 14 Oak Grove is this year’s Santa Clara – a Cinderella that rises from obscurity to down one or more teams seeded much higher? The Bruins, the No. 15 seed in last year’s tournament, rolled over three consecutive West Catholic Athletic League teams en route to a championship-game appearance. So what happens if the unthinkable happens – the ‘Balers suffer a crushing defeat to Oak Grove?
“I will be very, very disappointed, as well as the rest of the team will, too,” San Benito head coach Michael Luna said.
Luna continued: “It’s been a great season whether we win or lose. … (But) I’m a sore loser. Myself and my team expect to win (today).”
Luna’s softball counterpart, Scott Smith, took it a step further for the Lady ‘Balers.
After San Benito rolled to a 26-3 regular season and earned a No. 3 seed just as the school’s baseball team did, Smith said anything short of making it to the title game wouldn’t sit well with the team.
“They really believe there’s no one out there that’s going to beat them,” said the San Benito softball coach, whose team opens play Saturday after enjoying a first-round bye. “I think they have this fire in their belly that if we don’t make it to the championship game, this season doesn’t mean much.”
Whether it’s fair or not, with great accomplishments come even greater expectations. And it’s definitely not fair.
We’re talking about high school athletics here. Not exactly the pressure cooker of professional sports or even the hotbed of collegiate sports. Heck, we’re not even talking prep football in Texas.
But clearly the expectations are still there.
For the Gilroy baseball team and head coach Clint Wheeler, the start of the CCS playoffs signals a time when the Mustangs hope to finally turn the tables on a WCAL team. After two straight quick exits when forced to open at Valley Christian, Gilroy has the higher seed and a first-round home game against No. 10 Archbishop Mitty.
The No. 7 Mustangs closed with an impressive 8-2 run, a streak that included their second victory over San Benito and a hard-fought win against Palma.
Wheeler said his team’s goals remain the same every year, but that the Mustangs (16-10) may be in a better position to achieve them this season.
“A goal we’re going to have is getting deep into CCS and having a chance of winning that,” Wheeler said.
And after it experienced a rocky start, the Gilroy coach went on to say that his team heads into the postseason finally playing to its potential.
“I think we definitely underachieved in a lot of closer games early,” Wheeler said. “I think there was a time we weren’t working hard enough to do what he needed to do. … The whole year, I knew what we were capable of. My expectations never got less.”
Victories over San Benito and Palma are one thing. But Mitty? The defending CCS champion? That’s a whole different can of worms.
While Gilroy earned the higher seed based on its performance and very well may defeat the Monarchs, let’s at least throw this one out there – any victory by a TCAL team over a WCAL team has to be considered an upset.
“Those schools are always the favorite, no matter what,” Luna said of the West Catholic teams.
And there are six of them in the Division I baseball field. Six!
If the Mustangs are fortunate enough to survive Mitty, they would almost certainly face No. 2 Bellarmine in Saturday’s quarterfinals. Talk about a tough 1-2 punch.
Back to the other diamond, in order for Smith’s Lady ‘Balers to meet their title-game expectations, they will likely have to oust No. 2 Carlmont, the peninsula powerhouse that sits at 28-1 on the year.
While there are certain games that fall in the must-see category – and that semifinal contest would be one of them – let’s not get into a ‘win-or-bust’ mentality. While no one I’ve talked to can remember a season quite like this one has been for the four bat-swinging ‘Baler and Mustang teams, tempering expectations just a bit might spice up the postseason even more.
Of course the local nines want to test themselves against the best. That’s what the playoffs are all about. But let’s let them settle things on the field.
One tantalizing match-up that looms on the horizon is a South Valley showdown between Gilroy and San Benito in the softball quarterfinals. Should the Lady Mustangs (14-9) defeat No. 11 Mt. Pleasant in Salinas today, they would meet their TCAL rival on Saturday.
And after the teams split their two games this season, who knows what would happen?
With her team making it’s first CCS appearance in the last three years, head coach Catherine Hallada said the No. 6 Lady Mustangs have already achieved their primary goal.
“For me, I think (the season) is already a success,” said Hallada, who played high school ball at WCAL-powerhouse St. Francis. “That was their bottom goal, to get to CCS. Now, it’s just pushing them a little bit further … and giving them the confidence to do well in CCS.”
So as the playoffs begin, keep in mind the beauty – and the bear – of life in the postseason.
“It’s a one-game elimination,” San Benito center fielder Jacob Boyd said. “Anybody could go home at any moment.”
Let’s enjoy those moments while they last.
