The San Benito High softball team went 5-1 in last week’s Spring Jamboree in Las Vegas, earning third-place honors.
The Haybalers’ only defeat came to Port of Los Angeles in the semifinals, 5-3, a game in which they were up 1-0 entering the sixth inning only to allow five runs on six errors. San Benito (12-3 overall, 3-0 MBL Gabilan) ended up taking third out of a 36-team field that featured top-flight competition.
Balers coach Scott Smith said he’s still trying to figure out why this year’s team has made backbreaking mistakes in each of its three losses—all to teams that had Division I-bound pitchers in the circle.
“We had one of those meltdown innings (against Port), which seems pretty typical for us this year,” Smith said. “We have a couple of little hiccups, or we let up and can’t seem to close the door. I blame myself for that, obviously, that I haven’t gotten the right formula for the team to play a full seven innings, so I have to figure it out.”
Britnee Rossi, the No. 2 batter in the lineup, hit over .650 and had an on-base percentage of .900 in Las Vegas, and Callee Heen also hit over .600 in the tournament.
Following the Spring Jamboree, the Balers played in the NorCal Classic, opening up with a 9-1 win over Enochs. Next came a game against Merced, which featured a UCLA-bound pitcher.
San Benito was up 2-0 late in the game but once again couldn’t make the lead stand, falling 3-2. The Balers play two more games on Saturday to close out tournament action.
Heen is hitting over .600 for the season, Suzy Brookshire is coming on strong and Adriana Ibarra has pitched life a bona-fide ace.
