No. 3 San Benito looks for first CCS title in facing No. 12
Watsonville
Hollister – One game. For all the marbles.
When the San Benito softball team takes the field Saturday morning at San Jose’s PAL Stadium, it has the chance to accomplish something that has eluded all of its Lady ‘Baler predecessors – a Central Coast Section championship.
Standing between No. 3 San Benito and its first-ever softball title is Watsonville, a team the ‘Balers have already defeated twice this season. Given the teams’ 2006 history and the No. 12 seed the Wildcatz drew for the Division I tournament, San Benito enters the championship game as a distinct favorite. But the Lady ‘Balers (28-3) know better than to get ahead of themselves.
“I hope we can win,” San Benito designated player Lindsey Clay said, “but I don’t want to be too confident. … We just take everything one step at a time.”
Said ‘Balers assistant coach Mike Maheu: “We’re confident, but we’re wary of our opponent because they’re a good team. If we go in there thinking we’re going to walk over them, we’re going to lose.”
The Wildcatz, which secured the last seed in the field, upset No. 5 Alvarez and No. 4 Monta Vista to reach Tuesday’s semifinals, and then outlasted No. 8 Milpitas, 4-3, in a nine-inning thriller to advance to their second CCS title game.
Watsonville lost to North Salinas, 1-0, in 2000 in the team’s only previous championship-game appearance.
After emerging from the bottom half of the bracket by running their win streak to five games, the Wildcatz (19-11) have to be considered a legitimate threat, according to Maheu.
“They’re riding a big confidence wave right now,” the San Benito assistant coach said. “They’ve beaten (three) higher-seeded opponents and they believe they can beat anybody.”
Watsonville head coach Art Doten agreed: “They’re full of confidence. They’re gung-ho. They’re ready to go. I’m hoping and expecting it to be a close game.”
Though San Benito defeated the Wildcatz 1-0 at the Watsonville Tournament on March 4, and thumped them 8-0 in Hollister on March 16, the Lady ‘Balers have yet to face Watsonville ace Noemi Torres. Doten’s championship-game starter has compiled a record of 17-9 on the year and may be the X-factor come Saturday.
“That’s definitely a factor,” said Maheu, who nonetheless noted that many of his players have seen Torres in summer ball. “I think we’re a good enough team that we can adjust, but Saturday will tell.”
Doten took a different angle when assessing the match-up.
“They haven’t seen our ace, but on the other side of the coin, we haven’t scored any runs off of them either,” the Watsonville coach said.
Not that many teams have lately. In their six-game winning streak, the Lady ‘Balers haven’t allowed a single run, outscoring their opponents 48-0. After receiving an opening-round bye, San Benito set down both No. 6 Gilroy and No. 2 Carlmont by a final score of 7-0.
After surviving eight no-hit innings against Carlmont ace Ashley Chinn on Tuesday – thanks largely to freshman starter Marissa Ibarra’s complete-game shutout – the Lady ‘Balers thundered to seven runs in the top of the ninth to advance to their program’s first title game since 2003.
San Benito fell to North Salinas, 3-0, in that contest. In their only other CCS championship game, the Lady ‘Balers lost 4-2 to another league rival, Live Oak, in 2001.
Asked how her team would respond on Saturday after prevailing in such a nailbiter in the semifinals, Clay said, “It felt like a championship game, but I think we can come back and do our job again. … I’m stoked. I can’t wait.”
Doten, the Watsonville coach, said his players have embraced their underdog label and look forward to the challenge San Benito poses.
“They know the job at hand is going to be huge,” Doten related. “They know they need to play great softball to beat San Benito, but they’re confident they can do it. They feel they can play with them.”
As for the Lady ‘Balers, Maheu said everything his team has accomplished – its 13-game winning streak, 15 shutouts and victories over Leigh, Notre Dame and Carlmont – can go out the window come first pitch at 11am.
“It makes absolutely no difference,” Maheu said. “Saturday, the whole season starts over.”
