Lady ‘Balers kick off TCAL season Tuesday at home to Salinas
San Benito’s current 3-3 overall record is perhaps misleading.
The two-time defending Central Coast Section champion Lady ‘Balers went 32-3 all of last year, and while they’ve already equaled last season’s loss total, they never did compete at an elite, cream-of-the-softball-crop tournament like they did last weekend.
After no-hitting Burlingame 5-0 in their season opener last Tuesday, San Benito went 2-3 last weekend at the Nike Faster to First Classic in Huntington Beach.
They dropped their first three games on Thursday and Friday, but rebounded with a pair of wins on Saturday to finish the 26-team tournament, which included some 16 teams listed on StudentSports.com’s Fab 50 national softball rankings.
San Benito is one of those teams, and is ranked No. 23 on that list.
Nonetheless, manager Scott Smith believes that in hindsight, his squad should have taken four of the five games.
“I thought with the two teams we played on Friday, I thought we were better,” Smith said of opponents Centennial High (Peoria, Ariz.) and Camarillo High. The Lady ‘Balers lost those contests by 3-1 and 6-4 margins, respectively.
“We didn’t play to our potential,” he added. “We had so many runners in scoring position, and we didn’t get it done.”
The Lady ‘Balers fell to Norco Senior High 4-1 on Thursday, but Smith called the 16th-ranked team in the nation flat-out “excellent.”
San Benito only played one official game as a full team entering the elite tournament, as the extended girls basketball season delayed the inclusion of two of its players, but the Lady ‘Balers improved as the tourney progressed.
San Benito wound up routing Chaparral High (Scottsdale, Ariz.) 10-1, and followed that with a far-closer 1-0 win against William S. Hart Union High – a game in which Hart put runners on second and third in the first two innings but failed to score.
“I thought we played well on Saturday,” Smith said. “We were hitting our stride … We were getting into a groove.”
With a limited amount of games in the preseason, however, the manager believes the first four games of the Tri-County Athletic League season will be the most important.
San Benito will kick off the season today, Tuesday, against Salinas.
“As opposed to where we were last year at this time, I think we’re a little behind,” Smith said. “I still think we have some growing to do.”
After having seen the progression at the Nike invite, with the defense especially improving from the start of the tournament, Smith said, the focus now is on those first four league games against Salinas, Alvarez, Alisal and Notre Dame.
Marisa Ibarra, who started every game at Huntington Beach, will get the nod against Salinas. She threw 35 percent of her pitches off speed at the tourney, and Smith said her arm is still strong.
The infield is also set, with Lizzy Gatto at third, Elena Fata at short, Bri Romero at first and JC Clayton at second base. Lindsey Clay will be behind the plate.
The outfield is not final, however, and neither are spots six, seven, eight and nine in the lineup. Said Smith, “It’s gonna come down to who matures swinging the bat.”
With five freshmen on the roster, and a late start to the season, the Lady ‘Balers will look to improve game by game, as the expectations remain the same.
“We didn’t lose a whole lot last year, so the expectations go through the roof,” Smith said. “Honestly, if we don’t win league and another CCS championship, they’re gonna be disappointed, without a doubt.”
With Salinas, Gilroy and Notre Dame standing in San Benito’s way, as Smith said, “It’s gonna be another fun year in the TCAL.”
JV Note:
The San Benito junior varsity softball team has started their season undefeated, and it looks it’ll be a rather promising year for the Lady ‘Balers.
San Benito opened the season with a 16-0 rout against Valley Christian, and followed that with three shutout wins where they allowed just a single base hit.
Assistant coach Ferrito feels he can use any one of his four pitchers and not lose anything on the mound, while offensively, San Benito is providing explosive pop.
Currently, seven players are batting about .500.
The JV’s have outscored their opponents 54-0 and are 4-0. They’ll host Salinas today, Tuesday, at 4:30 p.m.
