San Benito likes the view from the top. The Haybalers won the
Tri-County Athletic League title this season, are the defending
Central Coast Section Division I champions and have a top of the
order that’s as lethal as it gets.
Hollister – San Benito likes the view from the top.
The Haybalers won the Tri-County Athletic League title this season, are the defending Central Coast Section Division I champions and have a top of the order that’s as lethal as it gets.
With sophomore leadoff hitter JC Clayton being nearly unstoppable at the leadoff spot and junior Elena Fata driving in runs left and right, San Benito has a combination that has produced the school’s first 30-win season and a spot in today’s 7pm CCS semifinal game against rival Gilroy at PAL Stadium in San Jose.
The ‘Balers have scored a first-inning run more than 60 percent of their games (20 of 33 times), creating a tremendous advantage given the quality pitching provided by sophomore Marisa Ibarra.
“From a player’s standpoint, it’s awesome,” coach Scott Smith said of the first-inning production. “But from a coach’s standpoint, it’s tough because when you don’t score you think it’s horrible. We almost take it for granted.”
Clayton has been the catalyst at the top. She hit a remarkable .610 in league play and is batting .560 overall primarily as a left-handed slap hitter. This, for someone who hit right-handed up until this season.
“She came at the start of year and said she wanted to start to slap some this year,” Smith said. “I told her I needed her power this year, but when you look at how fast she is, I thought we would try it. After the first couple of games it just clicked and she took off.”
Clayton thought it would be a better way to help her team, knowing that she would be closer to first base so if she put the ball on the ground she’d have a good chance at beating it out.
“I thought I could hit better lefty,” Clayton said. “I thought I could succeed more and help the team more. And I knew if it didn’t work out, I could switch back.”
During her freshman season as a right-hander, Clayton hit .411. She thought she was capable of doing the same as a lefty, but never expected to find this much success.
“I thought I could do just as good,” Clayton said. “But I didn’t think I’d be better or be as good as I am now.”
Her success has gone hand in hand with the team’s success and has directly led to another outstanding season from Fata, the league’s Most Outstanding Player who was named to the All-State Underclass team last year and seems a lock, along with Clayton, for all-state honors this season.
Fata hit .543 in league play and is at an even .500 overall (50-for-100), driving in a team-best 41 runs while blasting four homers, eight doubles and nine triples. Right behind her in the order is Lizzy Gatto, who’s hitting .424 overall with five homers, 13 doubles and 23 RBIs.
“I know if I get on, I’ll either steal or Rachel (Maheu) will bunt me over,” Clayton said. “Elena and Lizzy have been racking up hits and getting me in.”
It all creates an air of confidence throughout the team.
“I think it helps everybody because nobody feels the pressure,” Smith said. “They know the girls behind them can get it done.”
That also helps the ‘Balers prepare for big games in the postseason, because they can apply their focus to improving their own game.
“It’s nice to prepare for every game by working on our strengths and not on exploiting the other team’s weaknesses,” Smith said. “And that’s no disrespect to the other teams. That’s just what we have to do to win.”
By taking on a team such as Gilroy, who the ‘Balers have beat twice this season, the surprise factor San Benito typically has with its aggressive nature will be gone because the Mustangs have seen a lot of the ‘Balers.
That concerns Smith, who expects a tough game where San Benito may need a lot of runs.
“The less people know about us, the better we are,” Smith said. “We’re very aggressive and if a team doesn’t know that, we can surprise them. But they know us well enough, it’s going to come down to the girls playing their game.”
The winner of tonight’s game will play at 4:30pm Saturday at PAL Stadium in the championship game against either Watsonville or Carlmont. Those teams square off at 4:30pm today in the other semifinal.
