Fhurong and Zozaya lead baseball team, Ibarra and Fata stand out
for softball, De La Cruz earns first team selection for
volleyball
Hollister
The San Benito baseball team took nearly every top award in the Tri-County Athletic League recently, but finishing with a three-game lead for first place will usually provide that.
Senior shortstop Ronnie Fhurong (.380 avg., 20 RBIs) and junior catcher Kyle Zozaya (.442 avg., 16 RBIs) earned co-most valuable player honors for the TCAL this season, while manager Michael Luna was given the coach of the year award after his Haybalers completed their league season with a 17-1 mark.
Luna’s year also included a 25-6 overall record, a No. 1 seed in the section playoffs, and not to mention his 100th career victory when his ‘Balers dispatched No. 16 Silver Creek 11-1 in the postseason.
In total, San Benito earned 11 awards in all, including five first team selections – the most in the league.
Leading those selections was San Benito’s fluid shortstop and its man behind the plate.
“Even though they had outstanding offensive numbers, defense is where they stood out,” said Luna of Fhurong and Zozaya. “Without them, we wouldn’t have had as good a season as we ended up having this year.”
Luna said he’s been coaching for 20 years at the high school level, and Fhurong is one of the best, if not the best, in terms of hand-eye coordination.
“And just the softness of his hands, he gets every correct hop,” Luna said.
Of Zozaya, Luna said nothing got by the catcher, and he was outstanding and solid the entire year.
“Every pitcher that threw to him was confident with him behind the plate,” Luna said. “When you add his arm into the equation … he threw out close to 90 percent of the runners trying to steal.”
Joining the two on the first team was Brian Haggett (.420 avg., league-high 9 doubles), Zach Canez (.327 avg.) and Miles Sanchez (3-0 record, 3.65 ERA).
Seniors Haggett and Canez, whose 1.07 ERA and 6-1 record was tied for best in the TCAL, are three-time All-League selections.
Second team selections included Steve Cabral, Jacob Eichhorn and freshman Darin Gillies, whose 1.09 ERA over 19 innings pitched was second in the league.
Tyler Provost was named the the Sportsmanship Team, and Spencer Brann was given honorable mention.
SOFTBALL
Anchored by the league’s Most Outstanding Pitcher and its Most Outstanding Player, the San Benito Lady ‘Balers claimed their second straight Tri-County Athletic League title this year, not to mention their third straight section championship.
Junior pitcher Marisa Ibarra (24-4, 162 Ks) and senior shortstop Elena Fata (31 hits, 2 HR, 22 RBIs) earned the outstanding honors, respectively, and led a Lady ‘Baler group that had nine All-League selections this season.
Manager Scott Smith said of Fata, who will be playing at UNLV next season on a partial ride, that she definitely deserved the award over anyone in the TCAL.
“Hitting. Defense. Base running,” Smith said. “Elena was phenomenal in all three areas. Hands-down, the best player in the league.”
Of Ibarra, Smith has said it before and he’ll stick by it: “If I could pick one kid out of the CCS, I’d pick Marisa.
“She’s a pitcher, not a thrower … She does what you ask her to do, she’s a hard worker and she fields tremendously.”
Joining those two on the first team was JC Clayton, Rachel Maheu and Lizzy Gatto. Second team selections included Jessica Vest, Lindsey Clay and Haley McFarlane.
Clay was also named to the Pursuing Victory with Honor sportsmanship team.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
San Benito boys volleyball coach Luis Espinoza said he knew going in that David De La Cruz would get nominated.
The senior libero, De La Cruz was the team’s captain and led San Benito in digs with 453 – tops in the Tri-County Athletic League – and he was recently named first team All-TCAL.
“He was a key,” Espinoza said. “We needed veterans on our squad and he stepped it up. He brought a lot of leadership to our young team.
“I pretty much knew that he’d be one of the first ones nominated based on what he did this season.”
Although it was his digs that set him apart, De La Cruz also contributed 34 aces for San Benito (8-6 TCAL, 10-19 overall), which was the second most on the team.
Joining De La Cruz was Adrian Rodriguez, who was named second team All-League. Rodriguez, a junior, was named the squad’s Most Valuable Player after contributing a team-high in assists (559), another statistic that once again led the TCAL.
“Huge turnaround from last year,” Espinoza said. “He was one of the centerpieces of our offense.”
Of the team MVP, Espinoza said Rodriguez was surprised to receive the honor.
“He was totally surprised,” Espinoza added. “I think he doesn’t give himself that much credit for the way he plays.”
Luis Bradley, Brian Hawks and Roy Powell were given honorable mention for the All-League awards, while senior Elijah Pollard was named to the Sportsmanship Team.
