Hollister residents may be getting spoiled when it comes to
their baseball and softball teams.
Hollister residents may be getting spoiled when it comes to their baseball and softball teams.
Last year fans saw both San Benito High School teams reach the championship game of their respective Central Coast Section playoff, and this year the Hollister teams reached yet another CCS rarity by garnering the coinciding top seeds. On Saturday, the baseball and softball teams learned they were awarded the No. 1 seeds for this week’s CCS Division I playoffs.
The baseball team earned its third straight Tri-County Athletic League title with a stunning 17-1 record, 24-5 overall, and will host No. 1 16 Silver Creek at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
The Lady ‘Balers earned the top seed, as well as a first-round bye, after the team went undefeated in the TCAL at 12-0, and was 25-4 overall. They’ll play the winner of No. 8 Oak Grove and No. 9 Evergreen Valley set for 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Salinas Sports Complex.
Managers Michael Luna and Scott Smith were pleased with where they stood in the CCS brackets. For Luna, his baseball team gets to avoid No. 2 Serra and No. 3 Valley Christian until a prospective CCS final, while Smith’s softball team wouldn’t have to play league rival Gilroy until the final as well. A matchup with Salinas, though, could come a little sooner, but Smith said it was “as good as we could have hoped for.”
Having both No. 1 seeds is certainly not something that happens every year, but both teams seem concentrated on playing in the final game once again.
Said Luna, “It’s quite an honor … We earned that No. 1 seed.”
