Cowboys power past San Benito in early showdown
Hollister – Advantage Salinas.
In Wednesday’s showdown between what figures to be the top two teams in the Tri-County Athletic League, the Cowboys outslugged San Benito to gain a 13-10 win and the early edge over the defending league champions.
“We didn’t pitch very well,” Haybalers coach Michael Luna said. “But I give (Salinas) credit, when we made mistakes they capitalized.”
Michael Aldrete, despite his 5-foot-8 1/2, 145-pound stature, proved to be the biggest Cowboy, swatting a pair of home runs to go along with two doubles and five RBIs.
“It’s just really not about how big you are, it’s just about the swing,” said Aldrete, the son Mike Aldrete, a former major leaguer and former Arizona Diamondbacks hitting coach.
Aldrete’s first blast went to the opposite field to give Salinas a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
San Benito rebounded with three in the bottom half of the inning, getting a sacrifice fly from Kevin Medeiros and RBI walks from Kevin Burley and Kyle Zozaya to take its only lead of the day.
The Cowboys lone scoreless frame came in the second, but Salinas regained the lead with a three-run third, sparked by Aldrete’s second home run and a two-run homer by Nick White. Dustin Stumpf added a two-run double in the fourth as the Cowboys gained a 7-3 lead.
The ‘Balers got back within striking distance with four runs in the bottom of the fourth. Brian Haggett delivered the big hit with a two-run double, Medeiros added an RBI single and Zach Canez had a run-scoring double to tie it at 7-7.
Salinas again grabbed the lead with three runs in the fifth, but San Benito responded with three in its half of the fifth to tie it again. Zozaya led off the inning with a home run and Bryan Scott delivered a two-out, two-run double.
The Cowboys finally took the lead for good in the sixth. White walked and Chris Pinto entered as a pinch-runner. He stole second and then third, and the throw down got past the third baseman and the winning run came home. Salinas added two insurance runs in the seventh and the ‘Balers went down in order in the final two innings.
Despite the loss, Luna was happy with the offense’s ability to fight back against a pitching staff that hadn’t allowed more than three runs in a game this season.
“That’s big. We kept battling back,” Luna said. “But we couldn’t get a guy to throw a zero up there. And we had no answer for Aldrete.”
San Benito quickly returns to action when it hosts Gilroy at 4pm today.
Salinas 202 231 2 – 13 15 1
San Benito 300 430 0 – 10 10 2
Carma, Roland (1), Corvello (4) and White. Garcia, Sanchez (4), Cabral (5), Eichhorn (7) and Zozaya.
2B – Klauer (SB), Haggett (SB), Scott (SB), Arcoleo (S), Stumpf (S), Coon (S), Aldrete (S) 2. HR – Zozaya (SB), White (S), Aldrete (S) 2.
