San Benito easily beat Monterey 201-257 on Tuesday to earn the Monterey Bay League’s second automatic berth into the upcoming Central Coast Section regional playoffs.
Golf
San Benito easily beat Monterey 201-257 on Tuesday to earn the Monterey Bay League’s second automatic berth into the upcoming Central Coast Section regional playoffs. For the first time all season, another player besides Ryan Han earned medalist honors for the Balers. Nick Caputo shot a 1-over par 37 at Eagle Ridge Golf Course in Gilroy, followed by Han’s 38.
Freshman Brad Sparrer finished with a 39, followed by Greg Moreno’s 42, John German’s 43, and Grant Bernosky’s 46. A day earlier, the Balers played at Salinas Golf and Country Club in the MBL Finals, in what was essentially a tilt with Palma for the Gabilan Division title.
Although Han tied for the third best score on the day — he shot a 3-over par 75 — it was good enough to earn him the MBL’s Most Valuable Player award for the third straight year. The award is given to the player who produces the lowest net score in league matches over the course of the entire season.
On winning the league’s MVP for the third consecutive season, Han said, “It feels good to finish like that. Winning my sophomore and junior year, but not senior year would kind of feel bad. It’s a little bit of relief because I came in and I was like, ‘Shoot. I don’t know if I’ve got it this time.’ Luckily things worked out.”
Did they ever. Now the Balers will try to achieve what is believed to be a first in school history — advance to the CCS Finals for the second straight year. To do that, they’ll have to get out of a tough regional on May 6 at the Rancho Canada West Course in Carmel.
“I think we’ve got a great thing going,” Balers coach Reggie Synegal said. “These guys want to beat each other in friendly manner, and the competition between themselves has made them better overall players.”
After the completion of Monday’s league finals, German earned the MBL’s Sportsmanship Award.
Softball
San Benito improved to 17-2-1 after a 14-2 beatdown of Seaside on Tuesday in a game that was shortened to five innings due to the 10-run mercy rule. The Balers finished with 17 hits, including three from Callee Heen, and two each from Isha Gonzalez and Adriana Ibarra. Victoria Silva went the full five innings — recording eight strikeouts — to earn the win, and Ibarra had a game-high three RBI.
Serena Adame and Sarah Rickard drove in two runs apiece.
Tennis
On Wednesday at Chamisal Tennis Club, Andrew Panger and Nick Trillo earned a berth into the Central Coast Section tournament after reaching the finals of the Monterey Bay League Pacific Division Championships.
