Down 6-1 to Bellarmine, ‘Balers rebound for 11-7 win, advance to
final
San Jose
They started slow. They finished strong.
Trailing 6-1 after two complete innings to Bellarmine Prep, the San Benito Haybalers capitalized on 15 walks, outscored the Bells 10-1 for the remainder of the game and stole an 11-7 win in the semifinals of the Valley Christian Crown Classic Tournament Thursday night in San Jose.
San Benito (11-3 overall, 4-0 TCAL) will play in Saturday’s championship final against Valley Christian, which defeated Santa Cruz 6-3 in the other semifinal game.
“It wasn’t a good game defensively or running the bases, but we find a way to win,” manager Michael Luna said. “Weaker teams may have rolled over, but you’ve got to give credit to the team for persevering.”
Pitcher Darin Gillies started for the ‘Balers and allowed two runs on five hits through 1 1/3 innings. He struck out two.
San Benito made three of their four errors in the second inning, however, leaving Luna to say it was “probably the worst defensive inning we’ve had all year.”
Reliever Jacob Eichhorn pitched 4 2/3 innings for San Benito, allowed one run on three hits and struck out five to keep the Bells at bay.
Meanwhile, San Benito went to work after 15 walks by Bellarmine, as well as two hit-batsmen, supplying the ‘Balers with 17 free bases.
Steve Cabral went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs, while Dane Lamanna was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Kyle Zozaya supplied a double in the first inning, which scored Zach Canez from first base and gave San Benito an early 1-0 lead.
“Jacob Eichhorn did a great job … giving us a chance to get back into the game,” Luna said.
San Benito scored in every inning but the second, and plated four runs in the fourth and three in the sixth to take the lead from Bellarmine.
Miles Sanchez pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning for San Benito.
The ‘Balers will play Valley Christian at Valley Christian High School for the Crown Classic championship on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
On Tuesday, San Benito will return to league action when they host Salinas at SBHS.
BP 240 001 0 – 7 8 2
SB 101 413 1 – 11 7 4
