Hollister – It’s a scary thought. After back-to-back blowout wins to open the Babe Ruth Central California state tournament, the San Benito 14-year-old All-Star team still isn’t firing on all cylinders.
While San Benito’s weekend victims may not agree after being humbled by the host team, manager Stephen Ferranti believes his squad has the potential to perform even better, particularly at the plate, despite winning its two games by scores of 15-1 and 10-0.
“We haven’t been hitting the ball as hard as we can,” Ferranti said. “There’s room to improve offensively. We haven’t been consistent in our lineup, from top to bottom.”
Sitting one win away from playing for the state title on its home diamond, San Benito knows it is in a favorable position. The local All-Stars take the field in the semifinals tonight against Lodi, a familiar opponent because it also hails from District 1.
San Benito defeated Lodi to win the district title and then kept its strong play going in the opening weekend of the state tournament. The 14-year olds battered Atascadero 15-1 on Saturday, and then blew past Cotton Belt by a score of 10-0 on Sunday.
Justin Terril starred at the plate and on the mound against Atascadero, going 3-for-4 with six RBIs while allowing two hits in four innings pitched.
San Benito didn’t score until the third inning, but once it did, the runs came in waves. Catcher Justin Schlie opened the third with a walk and later scored, opened the fourth with a walk and later scored, and, yes, opened the fifth with a walk and later scored.
Against Cotton Belt, the Fresno-area district champion, San Benito again received a dominant performance from its starting pitcher. Kyle Vallejo tossed a complete game in just 80 pitches, striking out four without walking a batter.
“He was just throwing strikes and we were making plays behind him,” Ferranti said.
When his team takes the field against Lodi, Ferranti said it shouldn’t expect a repeat of its 11-2 victory in the district title game.
“They fought their way through the losers’ bracket, so they didn’t have some of their top pitchers,” the San Benito manager said. “They know us. We know them. I hope we don’t take ’em lightly because they’re a good team.”
The San Benito-Lodi contest begins at 7:30pm tonight.
