The San Benito High softball team won its second tournament of
the season and remained perfect on the year when it took two games
Saturday at the Mission City Invitational in Santa Clara. The
Balers defeated Leigh 8-2 in the semifinal round, then trumped
Santa Teresa 8-1 in the championship later that day behind a
complete game one-hitter from Paige Miguel.
HOLLISTER
The San Benito High softball team won its second tournament of the season and remained perfect on the year when it took two games Saturday at the Mission City Invitational in Santa Clara.
The Balers defeated Leigh 8-2 in the semifinal round, then trumped Santa Teresa 8-1 in the championship later that day behind a complete game one-hitter from Paige Miguel.
Follow Free Lance Sports on Twitter.
Miguel allowed one run on one hit — the lone tally coming via a wild pitch — to help lead the Balers to the tournament championship, which is their second tourney title this year.
San Benito also staked claim to the Annie Lynch Memorial Circle of Champions tournament in Salinas last month.
Last weekend’s tournament, though, which was coupled with a pair of victories over Mountain View and Los Altos during pool play the previous weekend, saw the Balers pretty much dominate from start to finish.
In fact, they defeated their four opponents by a 33-5 margin.
Samantha Puentes and Jessica Vest were both named all-tournament at the Mission City Invitational. Puentes, manager Scott Smith said, batted around .780 for the four games.
“She just tore it up,” Smith added.
Against Leigh, Puentes had a pair of singles, a drag bunt and a home run, while in the championship final, she went 3 of 4 at the dish — all singles.
Vest, meanwhile, batted around .450 for the Balers, and connected on a homer in the championship game.
“She just played tremendous defense,” Smith said. “She just made so many phenomenal plays through the whole tournament.”
The pitching wasn’t all that bad, either.
In the semifinal against Leigh, which had won six straight coming into the game, Miguel allowed two runs on four hits through 2.1 innings. Megan Sabbatini came in for relief as a result, and proceeded to quiet the Leigh bats.
She allowed no runs over the remaining 4.2 innings, striking out nine.
Later in the day, in the championship game, Miguel returned to the circle and bounced back by tossing a one-hitter.
Other notable performances at the Mission City Invitational included Brittany Hoff, who batted .400 with a triple and two doubles, while Taylor Fabing batted around .550.
The Balers are now 12-0 overall.
They’ll return to Tri-County Athletic League play on Tuesday when they will travel to Salinas to take on Everett Alvarez. First pitch is 4:30 p.m.
Note:
San Benito defeated Alisal 13-0 on Thursday in Tri-County Athletic League play. The Balers are now 4-0 in the TCAL.
