There are certain pressures and expectations that come with
playing for a winning program. Specifically, the more a team wins,
the more that team is expected to win
— almost a risk-reward situation.
But despite having won the last four Central Coast Section
Division I titles, the San Benito Lady Balers don’t appear to be
feeling much of the pressures their predecessors have put upon
them.
HOLLISTER
There are certain pressures and expectations that come with playing for a winning program. Specifically, the more a team wins, the more that team is expected to win — almost a risk-reward situation.
But despite having won the last four Central Coast Section Division I titles, the San Benito Lady Balers don’t appear to be feeling much of the pressures their predecessors have put upon them.
Or, at the very least, their record certainly doesn’t reflect it just yet. The team is 7-0 overall, 2-0 in Tri-County Athletic League play, and has outscored its opponents by a 47-6 margin.
“I don’t think it matters what we’ve done in the past because it’s really a whole new team,” said junior shortstop Jessica Vest, a three-year varsity member and first team all-league selection last season.
“We still have a lot of room for improvement,” Vest added. “But we’re off to a good start.”
An influx of youth for the second straight season has kept the Lady Balers green up and down the lineup. The team has just one senior in pitcher Danielle Acosta this season, and boasts six underclassmen, including five freshmen.
But while a youth movement is often met with negative overtones, the fact that San Benito is so young has perhaps aided in its pressure-less play.
“I think the fact that we got a lot of young kids out there … they don’t feel the pressure,” San Benito manager Scott Smith said. “I think it’s a good mix right now. The younger kids aren’t aware of it and the older kids kind of temper it.
“But we have the potential to be a lot better than how we’re playing right now, with the freshmen developing and learning to play together, trusting each other.”
A more seasoned San Benito softball team is sure to strike fear into the opposition. The team’s current undefeated standing isn’t met with much satisfaction, as Smith prides his squad on pitching, base running and defense, and it’s San Benito’s offense that has been carrying the torch of late.
“Our bats is what’s saving us,” Acosta said.
In last Thursday’s TCAL opener against North Salinas, the Lady Balers committed three errors in the first inning, four in the game, and fell behind by a 2-0 margin early on. San Benito won the game 6-2, though.
On Tuesday in Salinas, San Benito had two more errors, although that contest was certainly an improvement as the Lady Balers jumped on the Cowboys 2-0 at the start, and eventually won the game 5-1.
“Our defense has been underachieving in my evaluation, and our hitting has been overachieving,” Smith said on Monday. “But it’s worked out. We’ve scored a lot of runs and kept the pressure off the younger kids.”
The freshmen, including Samantha and Sierra Puentes, Brittany Newman, Brittany Sparrer and Ellie Burley, have certainly held their own, though. While Sparrer connected on a double in Tuesday’s win over Salinas, Samantha Puentes is the team’s current hit leader and starting second baseman.
And Smith is hoping as the season progresses, and the pressures most likely increase, the team’s crop of first-year players will be seasoned and developed to handle whatever comes their way.
It’s a process that has led to four straight CCS titles.
“All of the older girls are just trying to make the younger girls feel like they’re (at ease),” said junior Jessica Steigelman, who knows a little thing about pressure. During last season’s Division I championship against Gilroy, the first baseman blasted a three-run triple in the sixth inning to help the Lady Balers leapfrog the Mustangs, 4-3.
“They just need to play the game like they know how …” added Steigelman, who was a second team all-league selection last season.
The team’s four CCS titles has only netted two TCAL championships, however, as rival Notre Dame has managed to be a thorn in San Benito’s side in years past. And while the Spirits (2-1 TCAL, 10-3) were considered the early favorites to repeat as league champs, the team’s 4-3 loss to Salinas last week has opened the door for another contender.
Notre Dame will, no doubt, be in the discussion as the season progresses, though, joining Gilroy (2-0 TCAL, 8-3) and San Benito in what could come down to a three-team race.
The Lady Balers will counter with a lineup that includes returning sophomore Marissa Adame behind the plate — a second team all-TCAL selection last season — and a senior-less outfield with juniors Brittany Hoff, Paige Miguel and Mari Vallejo, who was a first team all-league selection last year.
Miguel will also see some action in the circle; she threw a complete game two-hitter against Salinas on Tuesday, and tossed a perfect game against Piedmont Hills at the Annie Lynch Memorial Circle of Champions in early March, a tournament San Benito won with a perfect 4-0 record.
The team’s lone senior in Danielle Acosta will see plenty of innings as well — she threw a one-hitter against Burlingame in the season opener.
The senior hurler said she feels the bulk of the pressure, though, what with being San Benito’s one and only fourth-year player.
“We’re doing OK, but we could do a lot better — just working on the little things,” she said. “But we have to do the work. We have to do well at practice in order to succeed.”
And as Smith often points out, success and winning are a by-product of hard work and improvement.
Said Acosta, “Everyone wants to beat us, and we just need to work harder.”
San Benito will open the Mission City Invitational on Saturday morning at 9 a.m. against Milpitas at Mission College in Santa Clara.
