Only in a rivalry game between San Benito and Gilroy would an
extra-inning pitchers duel be considered, well, typical.
But after seven innings of play on Friday, and a combined nine
runners left on base, six of whom were in scoring position, it was
the Lady Balers who finally pushed across the one and only run of
the game.
HOLLISTER
Only in a rivalry game between San Benito and Gilroy would an extra-inning pitchers duel be considered, well, typical.
“This rivalry is amazing, just amazing — one of the best,” said Gilroy head coach Julie Berggren, who skippered the Mustangs four years ago and said nothing has really changed between the two teams. “They got the hit when they needed it, and we didn’t.”
After seven innings of play on Friday, and a combined nine runners left on base, six of whom were in scoring position, it was the Lady Balers who finally pushed across the one and only run of the game for their 13th straight victory over Gilroy.
With runners on second and third and two out in the bottom of the eighth, Marissa Adame connected on a liner up the middle that never left the infield, but was hit just far enough to give the Lady Balers a 1-0 win.
Gilroy second baseman Dani Hemeon displayed plenty of range when she made a diving stop to her right side to keep Adame’s hard-hit ball from traveling into the outfield. But when she came up to make a throw, Adame was safe at first and teammate Mari Vallejo had already scored.
“I was just trying to get a hit up the middle, and it worked,” said Adame, who was 0 of 3 prior to her game-winning at-bat, and even struck out her previous time up at the plate to strand a runner at third base.
“I knew I needed to pick myself up,” Adame said. “The next at-bat, I knew I needed to produce.”
Production was in short order throughout the game, however. Aside from how it ended, the story surrounding Friday’s league showdown between the two rival schools were its respective pitchers — San Benito’s Paige Miguel and Gilroy’s Sarah Lira, each of whom went the distance in the eight-inning affair.
“It was a really good game. I don’t think we should hang our heads …,” said Lira, who allowed five hits and struck out 12. The senior hurler even seemed to raise her game when the Lady Balers threatened, as San Benito left five runners on base in the game, four in scoring position.
“But it’s always hard to lose to them,” Lira added. “They’re a really awesome team.”
Friday’s contest was the first time San Benito and Gilroy had seen each other since last season’s Central Coast Section Division I championship, when the Lady Balers scored three times in the bottom of the sixth to steal a 4-3 win over the Mustangs.
Friday’s make-up contest — the game was originally scheduled for Wednesday but was rained out — was also the first time Gilroy had seen junior pitcher Paige Miguel, who although had just six strikeouts, allowed just three hits and induced 16 ground-ball outs.
“She throws a good, hard drop ball and her velocity was good today,” San Benito head coach Scott Smith said. “She threw a three-hitter against a very good-hitting team and did a great job.”
Miguel allowed the leadoff hitter to reach base in two different innings, but pocketed key Ks in both of those frames to prevent the Mustangs from finding the scoreboard.
Gilroy had its best chance to plate a run in the fourth inning when a leadoff walk to Hemeon preceded a bloop single by Melanie Morelos, supplying the Mustangs with a pair of base runners and no outs.
But a liner off the bat of Lira that appeared to be heading into center field instead ricocheted off Miguel’s glove and right to shortstop Jessica Vest, who managed to record the first out. Miguel then struck out the next batter and got the third out with a grounder back to the pitcher.
“We just need to get one more hit,” Berggren said. “One more hit and this is our game.”
Lira kept San Benito’s bats relatively silent early on. Although the Lady Balers finished with five hits in the game, they didn’t record their first hit until the bottom of the third.
And the only run of the game, of course, was manufactured.
A fluky single by Nicole Rianda to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning preceded Mari Vallejo’s at-bat when she was hit by a pitch, supplying San Benito with two runners on and nobody out. Brittany Hoff then sacrificed both runners over with a well-placed bunt to the third-base side.
One batter later, Adame hit a screamer up the middle that finally ended the game.
“We’ll see them one more time,” Lira said.
Smith said his team has been in a bit of a hitting slump for the last five games, while the one run in the eighth inning by the Lady Balers ended a 15-inning scoreless streak.
“We faced a good defensive team and Lira pitched really tough,” Smith said. “The way it worked out, we struggled really bad at the start.
“But to see the progression where the kids finally realized, ‘Look, I’ve got to relax a little bit, see the pitch and make sure it’s a strike before I hit it,’ I think we kind of got over a hump today.
“This was a big game for us.”
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San Benito improves to 5-0 in the Tri-County Athletic League, 16-2 overall, while Gilroy falls to 5-2 in the TCAL and 11-6 overall. Both teams will be in action on Monday, when the Lady Balers will visit North Salinas and the Mustangs will host Alisal.
Both games will begin at 4:30 p.m.
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