The San Benito Lady Balers compiled a 2-1 record in pool play at
the Mission City Invitational on Saturday in Santa Clara, and
suffered their first loss of the 2010 season.
SANTA CLARA
The San Benito Lady Balers compiled a 2-1 record in pool play at the Mission City Invitational on Saturday in Santa Clara, and suffered their first loss of the 2010 season.
San Benito is now 9-1 overall.
Despite the loss, though, San Benito received strong performances from Mari Vallejo and Danielle Acosta during the three-game slate.
In fact, the Lady Balers opened the tournament with a comfortable 10-0 victory over Milpitas behind a perfect game from Acosta. The senior hurler allowed no hits, no walks and struck out four against the minimum 12 batters, while the defense behind her played error-free softball.
Vallejo, meanwhile, was 3 of 3 with a triple, while teammates Jessica Vest, Marissa Adame and Samantha Puentes chimed in with two hits apiece.
The game ended in the fifth inning.
San Benito couldn’t keep its streak alive in the second game against Mount Pleasant, however, although the defeat wasn’t met without a somewhat controversial call.
With San Benito leading 3-1 in the fifth inning, Mount Pleasant connected on a single to the outfield and the ensuing throw home was well in time, assistant coach Mike Maheu said.
“But the runner mowed down (Marissa) Adame at the plate,” Maheu said of his catcher.
Although the base runner is not allowed to make contact with the catcher, no call was made and the Mount Pleasant runner was ruled safe.
The collision at home plate allowed the ball to squirt loose, though, and a trailing base runner scored the game-tying run on the same play. Mount Pleasant later took the lead in the inning on an RBI single.
Paige Miguel (5IP, 7H, 3K, 2ER) started the game for the Lady Balers, who were held to just four hits in the contest and committed three errors. At the plate, Vallejo was 2 of 3 with a double, while Adame added a triple.
San Benito managed to rebound in the third and final game of pool play when it claimed a 6-2 victory over Homestead.
Despite the outcome, the two teams were scoreless until the fifth inning when Vallejo put the Lady Balers on the board with a solo home run. She finished 2 of 3 in the game and 7 of 9 on Saturday.
Jessica Steigelman was 3 of 4 against Homestead, while Vest and Puentes each tacked on a pair of hits.
The pitcher Acosta (7IP, 1ER, 3K, 0BB, 7H) allowed two runs, one earned, although neither came until the seventh inning.
San Benito will return to Tri-County Athletic League action on Thursday when it will host Everett Alvarez at 4:30 p.m. The Lady Balers will then continue with the Mission City Invitational on Saturday in Santa Clara, although the team’s opponent was unknown at press time.
Maheu said the game is scheduled for 1 p.m., although the team is looking to change the game in order to play in a second tournament as well— the Steinbeck Classic in Salinas.
More to come
