The San Benito Haybalers already proved they were the team to
beat in the Tri-County Athletic League. Winning five straight
Division I titles can do that for a team. But with rainouts and
postponements pushing any meeting against Salinas back into the
second half of the league schedule, the Balers still had one area
team to prove themselves against. After Tuesday’s convincing 6-0
victory over the visiting Cowboys, though, in which San Benito had
just six hits but blasted two homers and played ultra-aggressive on
the base paths, while also receiving a complete game three-hitter
from starting pitcher Paige Miguel, the Balers officially backed up
what everyone already knew. Winning the TCAL this year means going
through Hollister.
HOLLISTER
The San Benito Haybalers already proved they were the team to beat in the Tri-County Athletic League.
Winning five straight Division I titles can do that for a team.
But with rainouts and postponements pushing any meeting against Salinas back into the second half of the league schedule, the Balers still had one area team to prove themselves against.
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After Tuesday’s convincing 6-0 victory over the visiting Cowboys, though, in which San Benito had just six hits but blasted two homers and played ultra-aggressive on the base paths, while also receiving a complete game three-hitter from starting pitcher Paige Miguel, the Balers officially backed up what everyone already knew.
Winning the TCAL this year means going through Hollister.
“We’re improving every practice,” said senior right fielder Brittany Hoff, who had two hits and three RBI through just two innings on Tuesday. “We try to work harder than the previous practice, and it’s showing in the games.”
If the Balers continue to improve each game, they could very well be looking at an undefeated season in the TCAL. After all, the team is already 6-0 in league, 14-0 overall, and it holds a one-game lead over Gilroy in the loss column, and now a two-game lead over Salinas.
“This was a big win for us. It was huge. Salinas High has a lot of confidence,” San Benito manager Scott Smith said. “We needed to send a statement that they’ve got to come and try and beat us.”
Winning out for San Benito means going through Gilroy and Salinas one more time, though, but the Balers are playing sound softball in all facets right now.
And like Hoff said, it’s showing in the games.
“They’re one of the better teams in the TCAL,” Hoff added of Salinas, which had only lost to Gilroy entering Tuesday’s contest. “This helps show us what we can really do, what our hard work does.”
San Benito set the tone in the home half of the first, set the tone with the very first batter, even. Samantha Puentes, who was well ahead of pitcher Justine Armento’s (5IP, 5H, 5R, 3BB, 3HBP) offerings, fouled off several pitches — each a pulled line drive down the line — before finally drawing a walk after 12 pitches.
“Just allowing them to see as many pitches as possible,” Puentes said of her team, which saw plenty after the sophomore’s lengthy at-bat.
Puentes would later steal second base before being knocked in by Hoff on a hit-and-run single to right field.
“I was supposed to go up the middle with it, but it was an outside pitch,” said Hoff, who instead lined one opposite field, momentarily freezing Puentes between second and third.
“But it played out,” she added.
Hoff found herself at-bat in the very next inning, too, this time with two outs and the bases loaded. Surprisingly, though, the senior relished the pressure situation.
“It’s exciting to come up with the bases loaded,” she said. “Just me and the pitcher. I want to win that battle.”
Hoff indeed won the duel against Armento when she lined a two-RBI single to left field, plating both Brittani Newman and Puentes from scoring position, and staking the Balers to an early 3-0 lead.
“Our philosophy is we’re playing against ourselves, trying to improve every game,” Smith said.
While Armento settled down following the second inning, the three-run cushion was already more than enough for San Benito’s Miguel (7IP, 3H, 1K). The senior hurler didn’t allow a hit until the third inning, induced 18 ground-ball outs, and retired the last nine batters she faced in order — all by forcing them to hit a ground ball, of course.
Salinas’ last threat of the game, in fact, came in the fourth inning. With one out, Samantha Moore hit an infield single, but was later tagged out trying to go from first to third following a single by Armento to right field.
Hoff fielded the Armento hit cleanly before making a bullet throw to third base to get the sliding Moore easily.
The lead was still 3-0 until the fifth inning, when San Benito took to the skies to put away Salinas. Jessica Steigelman drove the first pitch she saw off Armento over the center fielder’s head for a two-run homer, plating courtesy runner Sierra Puentes in the process, while Samantha Puentes followed with a solo homer to the left-center field gap in the sixth off reliever Alyssa Razo (1IP, 1H, 1R, 1K).
In the last eight games, Puentes is batting .780.
“It wasn’t always like that,” she said. “But in practice, I’ve made a few adjustments, listened to the coaches, and I’ve been using it in the games and adjusting to the pitchers.”
That appears to have been the case with many on San Benito, which hasn’t won 14 straight to start the season in at least 10 years, when the program went 12-0 before falling to Mitty in its 13th game of the season.
“The way it looks to me is if we play our best game, it’s gonna be tough to beat us,” Smith said, “and that’s all we’re working on, is just trying to keep playing our best game and go pitch by pitch.”
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The Balers won’t return to TCAL play until Tuesday, May 3, when they will host Gilroy in Hollister at 4:30 p.m. In the meantime, though, San Benito will compete at the 2011 Spring Jamboree in Las Vegas this week. The team is scheduled to play host Centennial High School on Thursday at 5 p.m.
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SALN — 000 000 0 — 0 3 0
SANB — 120 021 X — 6 6 0
WP: P. Miguel
LP: J. Armento
