San Benito freshman Adriana Ibarra has no problem admitting it, but she was “terrified” Saturday, when in a moment of desperation – in the middle of the Central Coast Section Division I championship game – the Balers (22-3) turned to her arm in the circle.
“I was so shaky,” she said.
But it didn’t show.
Coming in for relief of starter Megan Sabbatini in the fifth inning, the freshman saved the Balers’ seventh-straight CCS title in an 8-3 win over Carlmont at the PAL Stadium in San Jose.
In 2 and 2-3 innings, Ibarra allowed only one run and stuck out two in a surprising outing. She entered the game with the basses loaded with no outs in the fifth inning, with the Balers holding a 6-0 lead.
“She was huge,” head coach Scott Smith said. “She has a lot of self-belief, which is huge. So basically we sent her out there and told her if they score all three of the runs that are on the bases, I’m okay with that. But let’s not allow the girl at bat to go around. She succeeded at that.”
In the postseason, Sabbatini had been nearly perfect, going 16 shutout innings before the fifth against the Scots.
“Megan has pitched a lot lately and probably got a little bit tired,” Smith said. “Adriana came in and did a phenomenal job.”
With San Benito leading 6-0, Sabbatini allowed two hits and a walk to load the bases with no outs. Head coach Scott Smith quickly went to Ibarra, who allowed two of those runners to score, but finished off the inning with two ground outs.
Those two runs wouldn’t be nearly enough for the Scots to mount a comeback.
San Benito exploded with two runs in both the first and second innings to gain control of the game. Junior first baseman Taylor Fabing opened the scoring for San Benito with a 2-run, inside-the-park home run that skipped off the wall in right-center field.
Fabing finished a triple shy of the cycle, going 3-for-4 with five RBIs to lead the San Benito offensive attack.
“I went up there relaxed,” she said. “Once I saw the pitch and I smacked it. I just knew that we could win it. We all believed in each other. We all had the confidence and it all came through together.”
Center fielder Ellie Burly, who roamed the outfield snagging balls in shallow left and right field, finished the game 3-for-3 with a double, a walk and three runs scored to set the table for the Balers.
Against Carlmont’s Rebecca Faulkner, San Benito’s offense started the game with two runs in both the first and second innings to chase the Scot star.
“I didn’t expect us to come out like that and swing the bats,” Smith said. “It was huge for Taylor to do that. I think it helped our defense to relax and our younger kids to relax. After that first inning, we kept hitting the ball. Every inning we were getting runners on. I think that wore on them a little bit. They didn’t know what to call.”
He continued: “The kids were amazing today. I didn’t have to do nothing. The kids did it all.”
And despite her fifth inning struggles, Sabbatini was nearly untouchable for the game’s first four innings, allowing only two hits and four base runners.
“Everyone picked each other up today,” she said. “We were really loud in the dugout. A lot of girls that don’t get that much action on the field, they really stepped up. They were phenomenal.”
And that came from a team confidence and a pre-game fortune. Sabbatini said.
“I got a fortune cookie after Thursday’s game … it said ‘your confidence will lead you to success.’” she said. “It was really ironic. We were really confident today and that’s why we won.”
The win was San Benito’s seventh-consecutive CCS championship, but was perhaps the team’s most unlikely, Smith said.
“I’m at a loss for words for probably the first time ever because I did not expect this,” Smith said. “I was hoping to try to make the playoffs.”
The season was at times a struggle for the Balers, who lost three of their final 13 regular season games. The team didn’t have a senior starter, and on Saturday, three freshmen were in the starting lineup. Through three postseason games, the Balers never trailed and outscored their opponents 19-3.
“I think it means more to them than it does to anybody else,” Smith said. “They inherited this reputation. They lost it in the middle of the year, when they lost a couple of games they shouldn’t have. We said we had to earn it back. And today I think they did that.”
