No. 2 Balers eliminated from CCS by North Salinas
SALINAS –– One of the most promising seasons for the San Benito High softball team came to an end Saturday.
No. 2 San Benito lost 4-3 to No. 7 North Salinas in the quarterfinals of the Central Coast Section Division 1 playoffs held at the Salinas Sports Complex.
For the Balers, the loss marks the end of a season filled with highs and lows. San Benito defeated Notre Dame, one of the top ranked teams in the nation, but against teams below them, they didn’t have much success.
“(The season) is good as far wins and losses go,” said Baler coach Scott Smith. “Like I told the kids, we don’t get beat very often, but we tend to give it away. It was the little things that hurt us.”
North Salinas advances to the CCS semifinals against No. 3 Milpitas, who defeated No. 6 Mt. Pleasant. San Benito wasn’t the only top-seeded team who had trouble in the first round. No. 1 Carlmont had to scratch and claw to defeat No. 8 Santa Teresa, 1-0.
After opening up with three runs in the first inning, San Benito fell silent until late in the game. North Salinas rallied back to tie the score then take the lead in the eighth inning – the first of the extra innings.
The Balers wasted little time getting on the board. Jenny Maheu led off the first inning with a long ball hit to the gap. Maheu, hustling the whole way, was waved around third by Smith and was able to slide in safely for a home run – her first of the year.
Before the Balers were done celebrating, Hillary Williams drew a two-out walk, and Rachelle Barrientos launched a triple over the left fielder’s head for an RBI then scored on a wild pitch.
San Benito, who was outhit 11-4, was limited to just two runners in the next four innings (Amy Baxter had a hit in the fourth, and Maheu reached on an error in the fifth).
“We deserve more than this. We are a better team,” Maheu said. “They’re a good team, and you got to give them credit. It wasn’t so much our defense but our inability to string together hits.”
After San Benito retired the side in order for the first time in the sixth inning, the Balers rallied but were unable to score after Williams and Barrientos were walked with one out.
In the eighth inning after North Salinas scored a run in the top of the inning to go ahead, San Benito had a good chance to score. With one out, Kristen Archuleta hit a ball in the gap for a triple. She was held up at third base and was not able to score.
“She’s got good speed, but she slipped a little rounding first and then again rounding second, and I thought she would be out of gas by the time she got to third,” Smith said. “I respect the bats behind her.”
Both aces pitched a complete game, and both were the pitcher of decision for every game this year for their teams. North Salinas’ Jessica Boyle (17-10) out dueled San Benito’s Danielle Hernandez (22-9).
“I was trying to get some movement on my pitches, but it seemed like the opposite was happening,” Hernandez said.
The normally solid Baler defense didn’t help either. In the second inning, a couple errors and a passed ball opened the door for a pair of runs.
“If we get out of that second inning, I don’t believe they would have scored on us,” Smith said. “That kind of gave them new life. We just didn’t keep them off balance enough. They are a momentum team. If we take care of the ball in that second inning, they don’t score.”
In the fourth inning, Liz Fleming, who was 3 for 4, led off for the Vikings with a ball hit to Maheu. JT Temperino picked out the low throw at first base, but the runner was already there.
After giving up another infield hit, San Benito caught a break on a batter’s inference bunt play. North Salinas left the bases loaded, but not before a base hit tied the game.
“We tried to move up to the plate to take the drop away because that is her best pitch,” said Vikings coach Keith Berg.
In the eighth inning, North Salinas scored the go-ahead on a leadoff hit, a sacrifice bunt and then a single up the middle.
“Even on the base hit she had prior to that one, we got the ball up,” said Smith about the game-winning RBI hit. “We know if we keep it down to her, she won’t hit it.”
The teams had played each other three times before – North Salinas won the final two meetings.
“They’re a good team,” Berg said. “Look how hard it was for us. It was a battle of two crafty teams who know each other well.”
