Despite losing key pitching, Live Oak and San Benito will be
forces in the TCAL
With everyone except All-League pitcher Juliette Bowers back in
the lineup when softball play in the Tri County Athletic League
gets underway on March 21, all eyes will be on defending Central
Coast Section Champion Live Oak to make a run at another section
title this season.
Despite losing key pitching, Live Oak and San Benito will be forces in the TCAL
With everyone except All-League pitcher Juliette Bowers back in the lineup when softball play in the Tri County Athletic League gets underway on March 21, all eyes will be on defending Central Coast Section Champion Live Oak to make a run at another section title this season.
“We haven’t played any games yet because of rain but we look really solid,” said Live Oak coach Barry McDonnell. “The question mark is at pitcher. I think our offense and defense is going to be even stronger this year.”
Like the Acorns, San Benito High is forced to venture into the season without four-year starter Dani Hernandez on the hill.
Hernandez, who is now at New Mexico State, will be replaced by her freshman sister Mary Hernandez along with another freshman standout Marissa Ibarra. Both are expected to split time on the mound.
The only teams in the league this year that have their starting pitchers from a year ago are Gilroy and Salinas. Gilroy’s Sarah Villar is expected to give the Mustangs an edge in tight ballgames. GHS coaches did not return calls by press time.
“Notre Dame has also reloaded and picked up a good freshman pitcher from North County. I’d say that it stacks up now between them and Live Oak,” said San Benito coach Scott Smith. “Our goal is to finish above .500, shoot for first or second in league and make the CCS playoffs. We peaked early the last two years and then faltered. I hope we can reverse that this year.”
Since success on the softball field typically revolves around one strong pitching ace, repeating as section champs may be easier said than done for the Acorns, which will rely this year on the pitching of Tricia Goularte to get the job done on the hill.
McDonnell is impressed with what he sees from Goularte so far but he also knows that he’ll miss Bowers’ moving 62-mph fastball.
“Tricia has pretty good velocity,” McDonnell said. “She’s working hard on her control and development of a changeup and riser.”
Another Acorn that is expected to get some time on the mound is senior Vanessa Matta, who has not played softball since her freshman year.
“Her pitches have good movement. She’s got a good change and she keeps the ball down,” McDonnell said.
Although McDonnell’s biggest concern is with the ability of his pitching staff, the Acorns appear to be rock-solid at every other position as well as in the batter’s box.
One of those players is left-handed leadoff hitter Taylor Sutton, who transferred from Archbishop Mitty to come to Live Oak.
“It’s nice to see the transferring go the other way for once,” said McDonnell, who is clearly excited to get Sutton into the lineup.
Sutton’s sister, Alice, was also a solid all-around player, who had enough skills to play at the University of California, Berkeley.
McDonnell thinks the younger Sutton’s skills are comparable.
“She’s real versatile. She’s got power, speed and has a good arm,” McDonnell said. “We can play her anywhere.”
McDonnell went on to say that the race for a league title will be real close this year and that Salinas High will also be solid.
“I think it’s going to be anyone’s game this year,” said McDonnell, who has been at the helm of the Live Oak program since 2000.
Although McDonnell said that most games will be close and that most teams are equal, no one is picking Ann Sobrato High School – it will field its first-ever varsity team this year – to do well in the TCAL.
“Our team is made up of mostly freshman and sophomore players,” said Sobrato’s first-year coach Natalie Torrez. “We only have three juniors. Our goal this year is really to teach fundamentals and skills, and to try and build the program.”
Sobrato’s biggest deficiency is in the hitting department but Torrez is impressed with a number of her players, including sophomore pitcher Casey Post and junior catcher Caroline Amaya.
Post is expected to be the team’s ace on the hill this season.
“She gives it 100 percent. And she is a leader. That’s important on a young team,” Torrez said. “She has great speed and throws a variety of pitches. In my book, she’s a great pitcher.”
Amaya will round out the Bulldog battery.
“She has maturity and leadership. She’s aggressive and she takes charge,” Torrez said.
While the Bulldogs have not won a preseason game, the Balers of San Benito High have looked solid in the early going.
Just last week the perennial CCS powerhouse won a tournament hosted by Watsonville High.
“I’m pleased that we won but the competition wasn’t what I thought it would be either,” Smith said. “We did beat Watsonville 1-0 in the title game and they are a very good team.”
The Balers lost five players to graduation, including Hernandez, who led the team with a 1.40 ERA and a 20-9 record. San Benito advanced to the second round of the CCS playoffs last year before losing 2-1 to Cupertino’s Monte Vista High.
This year the Balers will take to the field with only two seniors. One of them is shortstop Kristen Archuletta, who batted .328 last season.
“She’s got a strong arm and is a good natural athlete. She’s a good hitter too, who hits for power,” Smith said. “In the field she also has good speed and range.”
Archuletta has been batting third in the Baler lineup since her sophomore year.
Some had speculated that Smith would leave his coaching duties at San Benito High after his daughter Megan graduated last season, but that is far from the case.
“I love coaching,” said Smith, who is in his sixth season with the Balers. “This team is real enjoyable to coach. They probably have the best chemistry of any team I’ve coached since I’ve been here. And the two seniors that are here are good leaders in a positive way.”
The other senior on the Baler roster is Ari Romero, who also plays volleyball and basketball. She will hold down the fort for the Balers at first base again this season.
And already the senior standout has proved her worth.
In the championship game of the Watsonville tournament, Romero made a difficult, over-the-shoulder catch of a fly ball late in the game that could have easily dropped into shallow right field, which would have cost the Balers the game.
“Our weakness this year is really our experience,” Smith said.
With seven returnees to the varsity squad this year, experience should be Gilroy High’s strength.
With her experience, Villar will be one of the league’s bright spots on the mound. She’s also a strong hitter and has enough skills to play in the outfield as well.
At third base junior Amanda Tellez will give Gilroy added strength on defense.
“She’s a very strong player and a quiet leader,” said Gilroy’s first-year head coach Catherine Hallada, who formerly coached St. Francis High School’s JV team. “This whole team gets along really well. They hang out and probably eat together three times a week.
