Clayton, Ibarra lead Lady Balers to Mission City title
Roundup: SB boys, girls track teams take first overall at
Quicksilver Classic
With JC Clayton at the plate and Marisa Ibarra atop the mound,
the San Benito Lady Balers weren’t going to surrender their crown
at the Mission City Invitational in Santa Clara.
One year removed from a near-flawless performance at the Mission
College tournament, where San Benito went 6-0 and outscored its
opponents by a 56-1 scoring margin to take the title, the Lady
Balers did it again this past weekend behind college-bound seniors
Clayton and Ibarra.
Clayton, Ibarra lead Lady Balers to Mission City title
Roundup: SB boys, girls track teams take first overall at Quicksilver Classic
With JC Clayton at the plate and Marisa Ibarra atop the mound, the San Benito Lady Balers weren’t going to surrender their crown at the Mission City Invitational in Santa Clara.
One year removed from a near-flawless performance at the Mission College tournament, where San Benito went 6-0 and outscored its opponents by a 56-1 scoring margin to take the title, the Lady Balers did it again this past weekend behind college-bound seniors Clayton and Ibarra.
After compiling a 3-0 record in pool play last weekend, San Benito extended its winning streak to six straight Saturday when it topped Presentation 4-1 in the championship final to repeat as Mission City champs.
Ibarra allowed one run in the first inning following four walks, but was otherwise dominant for the remainder of the game, allowing just three hits while striking out 10 Presentation batters.
Ibarra didn’t allow a base on balls after the first inning.
Clayton, meanwhile, was a thorn in Presentation’s side, going 3-for-3 at the plate with two RBI, four stolen bases and two runs scored.
With the Lady Balers trailing 1-0 in the third, Clayton singled on before she stole both second and third base. On the throw to third, however, Presentation fumbled the softball and Clayton took advantage, scoring the tying run.
In the fifth, Clayton’s infield hit resulted in a throwing error to first base. The wild throw sent the softball all the way into the outfield, past the right fielder, and Clayton sprinted around the bases and scored the go-ahead run to make it 2-1.
But she wasn’t done yet. The BYU-bound Clayton then connected on a two-RBI single up the middle in the seventh inning to supply the Lady Balers with a commanding 4-1 lead late in the game.
The Lady Balers are now 17-3 overall. They’re scheduled to return next Tuesday at North Salinas at 4:30 p.m.
SBHS Track and Field
The San Benito girls track team defeated runner-up Los Gatos 66-49, as well as some 23 other teams in attendance at the Fifth Annual Don Bell Quicksilver Classic in San Jose last Saturday.
The Baler boys, meanwhile, cruised to a 4×400 relay victory, a precursor to the team’s repeat win at the Quicksilver Classic. Having edged Monterey 73.5 to 73 last year, San Benito trumped second-place Mount Pleasant Saturday 62-51.5, as well as 25 other teams.
Courtney Allen (11:44.37) and Rachel Shimabukuro (11:53.98) went 1-2 in the 3,200, freshman Melissa Castro was tops in the high jump (5-02) and Natalie Becker was runner-up in the pole vault (8-0) to pace San Benito, among other competitors.
