Appearances can be deceiving.
Especially when it comes to looking at the final score of the San Benito High softball team’s 14-4, 6-inning mercy-rule win over Los Gatos in the first round of the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs on May 23.
“We’re not playing good defense, and at some point in time it’s going to catch up to us if we don’t get things turned around,” Haybalers coach Scott Smith said. “We might only have one game left.”
The top-seed Balers (22-5) play No. 4 Los Altos (20-8) in a semifinal contest at San Jose’s P.A.L. Stadium (the result was not available when this edition went to press, but look for the full story on sanbenitocountytoday.com).
San Benito defeated Los Gatos despite committing seven—count ’em, seven—errors. During the program’s dynastic run of eight consecutive CCS titles from 2006 to 2013, there were years in which the team didn’t commit 10 errors in an entire season.
“This year we’re giving up more runs not because we’re getting hit hard, but because we’re constantly making mistakes,” Smith said. “In years past we’ve always had stellar defense, and that’s a big part of winning championships. If we run into a good pitcher and spot them a two or three-run lead, we won’t be able to come back on them.”
San Benito trailed 4-1 before pouring things on in the later innings. Makayla Johnson, a sophomore who has produced a number of clutch hits this season, capped the onslaught with a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Callee Heen had a three-run homer, Chloe Cortez went 3 for 4 and Suzy Brookshire had two hits in support of starter Adriana Ibarra, who allowed just one earned run in going the distance.
At this point in the season, the question is whether the Balers have another gear to reach. In other words, can they suddenly put it all together for two games—the semifinals and finals—and claim the program’s ninth section championship?
Or will they simply run into a superior team, either in the form of Los Altos or defending champion Carlmont or Wilcox should they reach the title game?
Smith believes in the former.
“We definitely have the talent to play at a higher level,” he said. “We’ll be doing a lot of work before the Los Altos game.”
Perhaps it worked out well the Division I games were assigned for Thursday (semifinal games in Division II were scheduled for Wednesday and Division III for Tuesday and Wednesday).
The Balers will have had three days of practice to get their defense in order, probably the single greatest factor that will decide the team’s postseason’s fate.
“This week we’ll do a lot more front toss drills where we’ll have the hitters running the bases in live situations and the kids will have to visualize it,” Smith said. “As a coach, it’s my job to figure out how to push the right buttons.”
Smith said the team has been behind in 17 of its 27 games, mind-boggling when one considers its superior won-loss record. San Benito has one of the most potent lineups in the section, to go along with a strong pitcher in Ibarra.
That formula allowed the Balers to reach the title game last year, only to see their eight-year title run end due to suspect defense and a dominant Carlmont squad.
This year, San Benito once again has a powerful lineup to complement Ibarra in the circle. However, the Balers are not playing championship-caliber defense, and they know it.
“(Against Los Gatos) we overthrew bases, dropped balls and was just poor on defense overall,” Smith said. “But I believe we can play much better.”
