Softball goes 3-0 at Wilcox tourney, volleyball 2-2 at San
Francisco invite
Salinas
Pitchers Steve Cabral and Darin Gillies combined for a one-hitter and Ronnie Fhurong knocked in four runs as the San Benito baseball team took care of North Salinas Saturday 9-0.
It’s lucky number seven for San Benito, as the ‘Balers remain undefeated in the Tri-County Athletic League with a 7-0 record, and are now 14-4 overall.
With a pair of stellar pitching performances on the mound, Cabral and Gillies received all the run support they’d need in the first inning when the ‘Balers plated a single run.
It could have been more, however, as San Benito had bases loaded with no outs. The lone run scored on a ground ball double play.
“We’re leaving too many guys on base,” manager Michael Luna said. “I’m still concerned with our hitting. We should be scoring a lot more runs and hitting a lot better.”
The ‘Balers strung together five hits with two outs to open up a 5-0 lead in the third inning, however.
Kyle Zozaya and Cabral singled on before Dane Lamanna connected for an RBI single, while Fhurong followed with his first two-RBI single of the game. Kevin Burley then completed the two-out rally with an RBI single to give San Benito a five-run cushion.
In the top half of the fourth, the ‘Balers added three more runs after a Zozaya RBI double and another two-RBI single by Fhurong.
Zozaya was 3-for-4 in the game with a pair of RBIs, while Fhurong was 2-for-2 with four RBIs. Nathan Hopkins added a triple in the contest.
“We have one or two guys that are hitting it consistently, but we should have five or six guys, maybe seven,” Luna said.
Cabral started the game on the hill for San Benito, and allowed one hit over four innings of work, striking out five. Gillies came in for the last three innings, and struck out seven of the batters he faced and didn’t allow a hit.
Despite the win, the ‘Balers were perhaps looking past North Salinas to Gilroy later this week, Luna said. North Salinas is still searching for their first league win, and currently sit 0-8 in the TCAL.
San Benito will host North Salinas Tuesday in Hollister, and will play at Gilroy Thursday.
SB 104 310 0 – 9 11 3
NS 000 000 0 – 0 1 2
SAN BENITO SOFTBALL
Santa Clara
The San Benito softball team outscored their opponents 37-1 in pool play of the Wilcox Mission City Invitational in Santa Clara last weekend, and will advance as the No. 1 seed in bracketed play this weekend.
The Lady ‘Balers defeated Leland 13-1, Palo Alto 11-0 and Lynbrook 13-0 in pool play at Mission College, and will be bracketed with Leigh, Wilcox, Valley Christian and Fremont, among others. All three of San Benito’s games in pool play was called in the fifth inning due to the 10-run rule.
“I think we’re hitting somewhat of a stride,” manager Scott Smith said. “We’re starting to hit the ball hard and getting contributions from other kids in the lineup.
“We’re playing really well right now. The offense is coming into its own.”
In the opener on Friday, Haley McFarlane was 3-for-3, Rachel Maheu was 2-for-3 and Elena Fata was 2-for-3, including a three-run homer in the first inning against Leland.
Marisa Ibarra pitched a complete game one-hitter, striking out nine while allowing one unearned run.
In Palo Alto, McFarlane was 2-for-2 with a three-run homer and Lizzy Gatto was 3-for-3 with a two-run homer, and San Benito plated five runs in the top of the first inning. Page Miguel and Jessica Steigelman combined for a five-inning two-hitter.
The Lady ‘Balers finished pool play with another easy victory over Lynbrook, where Ibarra struck out 10 and allowed just a single hit.
Gatto went deep again with a home run, Fata added a triple and a double, while Maheu and JC Clayton added three hits apiece.
San Benito (4-0 TCAL, 14-4 overall) will play at Gilroy Tuesday.
SB 424 02X X – 13 9 1
LL 000 01X X – 1 1 3
SB 522 11X X – 11 14 0
PA 000 00X X – 0 2 2
LB 000 00X X – 0 1 3
SB 415 30X X – 13 16 0
SAN BENITO BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Atherton
The San Benito boys volleyball team prepared for their big week in the Tri-County Athletic League with an impressive showing at the San Francisco Invitational last weekend, compiling a 2-2 record at the 20-team tournament.
The ‘Balers are now 6-11 overall and return to league action this week with slated matches against Monterey and Gilroy.
“It was a pretty good tournament for us,” said coach Luis Espinoza, whose squad scored wins over Galileo and Chinese Christian, but faltered in a pair of close matches to Mitty and Saint Ignatius.
In their opener against Mitty, which kicked off at 8:15 a.m. on Saturday, the Monarchs won in two (25-22, 25-20).
“It was tough for our boys to get going,” said Espinoza of the early time. “They’re a good team, but we can compete with those guys.”
Adrian Rodriguez, who was not present at San Benito’s previous tournament, the Hammering and Roofing Seminar Tournament in Willow Glen, led the ‘Balers with 21 assists. Brother Erik Rodriguez supplied 12 kills for San Benito, while David De La Cruz had 10 digs in the match.
Espinoza admitted to making a rotation error against Mitty, but felt his team performed well, nonetheless.
San Benito didn’t let the loss affect them, though, as they emerged victorious in their next two matches.
Against Galileo, Adrian Rodriguez had 29 assists and the ‘Balers won in two games (26-24, 25-22) to even their tourney record at 1-1.
Erik Rodriguez had 13 kills and De La Cruz had another 10 digs, while Brian Hawks had eight kills.
Adrian Rodriguez once again set up his teammates with 23 assists in the third match, as San Benito had an easy win over Chinese Christian in two games (25-11, 25-12).
Espinoza, though, was pleased to see his team not play down to their opponents level.
“We just overtook them,” Espinoza said. “What I’ve been waiting for a long time is having that killer instinct and not letting [your opponent] get points. That’s how they played in both games.”
Rodriguez dispersed the ball rather well against Chinese Christian, as eight ‘Balers provided a kill for the squad, with Erik Rodriguez’ seven leading the way.
De La Cruz had nine digs in the match.
In their fourth and final match, San Benito went the distance with Saint Ignatius, which wound up taking the match in three games (22-25, 25-20, 18-16).
De La Cruz had 21 digs in the match, and Adrian and Erik Rodriguez had 28 assists and 13 kills, respectively.
San Benito (4-2 TCAL) is currently tied for third place with Gilroy (4-2) and sits behind second-place Monterey (5-1) in the TCAL. The ‘Balers will see both those teams this week.
On Tuesday, the ‘Balers will host Monterey at Mattson Gym in Hollister.
