Alyssa Newman started the season on a tear only to cool down after the halfway point of the season.
But with the help of San Benito High softball coach Scott Smith, the junior right fielder has rediscovered her sweet hitting stroke just at the perfect time—in the home stretch with the playoffs upcoming.
Newman drove in three runs and had three of the Haybalers’ 20 hits in a 14-0, five-inning mercy-rule win over Gilroy on May 9.
“Alyssa made some adjustments at the plate, and it paid off,” Smith said. “It takes a lot of courage to change your hitting style this late in the year, and for her to do that shows how unselfish she is. Alyssa is a very intense kid and sometimes tries a little bit too hard, but when she relaxes, I don’t know if we have a better hitter on the team.”
On a squad that features two of the best hitters in the Central Coast Section in Callee Heen and Suzy Brookshire, Smith’s comments show just how highly he thinks of Newman’s talent.
The change in Newman’s hitting style wasn’t a drastic one; rather, it was a slight adjustment that’s made all the difference. Taking Smith’s advice, Newman took a tap with her front foot before going into her stride.
The toe tap basically acts as a mechanism to get her into the proper rhythm of a swing.
“My timing had been off, but now I’m feeling much better,” said Newman, who entered the week with a .394 average, 18 RBI and a .990 OPS. “Whenever we’re not doing good, coach Smith finds a way to get us going. That’s what he does for us; he makes you believe and gives us courage when we’re up to bat. I’ve been focusing on my release point, and I’ve gotten much better at being able to relax at the plate and not get as nervous.”
Newman’s resurgence has been a boon for the Balers, who are the eight-time defending CCS Division I champions and in line for a top-three seed in the upcoming CCS tournament, which starts next week.
San Benito was 20-3-1 overall and 9-1 in Monterey Bay League Gabilan Division play entering its regular-season finale against Salinas on Thursday.
The Balers have also been boosted by the bat of Heen, who has been on an absolute tear in putting up video game-type numbers this season. The shortstop ranks among the leaders in the entire Central Coast Section in virtually every offensive category, including home runs (she’s hit 11 round-trippers).
“This is probably as good as any hitting team we’ve had,” Smith said. “When you look at it as a whole, we’ve probably got 11 kids who can hit the ball pretty good. We’re solid one through nine, and we’ve got some pop, too.”
Newman’s role model growing up was her sister, Britanni, a 2013 San Benito graduate who is now playing at Cal State Monterey Bay. Alyssa always looked up to Brittany, but it didn’t prevent her from wanting to get the best of her older sister on occasion.
“When dad (Brian) took us out to the field, we would always try to top each other,” Alyssa said. “The competition between us was fun and always made us want to do better.”
Brittani was one of the team’s top sluggers last year, as she led the team with seven home runs and ranked second among all starters with 32 runs scored.
“To be able to play with my older sister last year, which I had never done before was pretty awesome,” Newman said. “She always had my back, but she also kept me in line.”
The Balers suffered their only loss in league play to Notre Dame-Salinas on May 6, an 8-7, eight-inning decision. Two days later, they rebounded by trouncing Gilroy.
“We’ve said all year the only team that’s going to beat us is ourselves,” Smith said. “I felt like we didn’t show up and was pretty complacent with no enthusiasm. Not to take anything away from Notre Dame because they’re a great team, but we didn’t show up to play. Against Gilroy, we did.”
Although some of the scores from its league games might not reflect it—San Benito has a whopping four mercy-rule wins through 10 league games—Smith said playing in the Gabilan Division prepares his team for the rigors of the postseason.
Since the Balers started on their consecutive run of CCS titles in 2006, they’ve finished second to Notre Dame in the league standings on a couple of occasions.
“To win our league means a lot,” Smith said. “To me it’s as tough as winning CCS. I think playing in our league contributes to our success in the postseason.”
