Mustangs rally back with two-run double in the sixth inning for
5-4 win
Gilroy – Gilroy coach Clint Wheeler acknowledged that at times it didn’t look like the two best teams in the Tri-County Athletic League were facing off Tuesday.
San Benito coach Michael Luna concurred. He saw a different team than the one Saturday that shut down Salinas. And yet, the Haybalers were within one strike of nabbing the key TCAL showdown.
Michael Stevens’ two-strike, two-out, two-run single in the sixth inning lifted the Mustangs to a 5-4 win over San Benito and sole possession of first place in the TCAL.
“We played real sloppy,” Luna said. “That four (errors) on the right side of the scorebook really hurt us.”
And yet the ‘Balers were so close to escaping the sixth inning unscathed. After a ground out, Roberto Celestino was safe on an error. But he was erased when he was caught stealing. Charlie Duffy ripped a double to right. Luna cringed when Danny Contreras reached on a walk.
“I’d rather pitch to Contreras and have him beat us,” Luna said. “That’s why he (Stevens) is leading them in hits, I don’t want to have to face Stevens.”
San Benito (23-8 overall, 6-3 TCAL) scored three third-inning runs. The first two came when Kevin Medeiros’ high fly ball to left was misplayed and fell for a double. Zach Canez followed with an RBI single.
The Mustangs (20-10, 7-2) got one back in the third as Stevens ground ball drove in a run, and two more in the fourth on Duffy’s sacrifice fly and Contreras’ RBI infield single.
The ‘Balers went ahead in the fifth as Andrade was hit by a pitch, Kolton Klauer reached on a fielder’s choice, and Medeiros’ single to left got past the left fielder, who then made an errant throw to the infield as Klauer scored.
Luna was impressed with the pitching of Gilroy left hander Jacob Dexter, who went the distance with an efficient 95-pitch effort.
It was different from the first time the teams met when Dexter carried a 4-3 lead into the sixth before San Benito scored 10 runs. He walked three and hit three batters in that game. This time, Dexter walked one and hit one batter.
“He mixed up his pitches well,” Luna said. “He was around the plate.”
Medeiros and Kyle Zozaya had two hits each for San Benito, which now finds itself rooting for Salinas when the Cowboys host Gilroy on May 8.
“You’re always going to get a point where a team faces adversity,” Luna said. “The team that handles it best is going to get the victory. They handled it better than we did.
“They’re in the driver’s seat. They control their own destiny. We just have to continue to win and will need some help.”
The ‘Balers host Alisal at 4pm Thursday.
San Benito 003 010 0 – 4 9 4
Gilroy 001 202 x – 5 11 2
Garcia, Fhurong (4) and Zozaya; Dexter and Fortino. L-Fhurong. 2B-SB, Medeiros; GIL-Grove, Duffy, Stevens.
