I really didn’t miss much in my week’s vacation. Let’s see. Just
the greatest softball game ever played on Hollister High soil.
I really didn’t miss much in my week’s vacation.
Let’s see. Just the greatest softball game ever played on Hollister High soil. No, not the 2-0 letdown loss to Gilroy on Wednesday, but last Tuesday’s 11-inning affair with North Salinas which the Balers prevailed 2-1. Hollister (9-3, 2-1) can’t overlook Tuesday’s road contest at Salinas (1-2 T-CAL) as looming Thursday is a home date with Notre Dame. The Balers are in a four-way tie for first with Gilroy, North Salinas and Notre Dame. Twelve grueling Tri-County Athletic League games remain.
And I missed seeing the Baler baseball team rout North Salinas twice. The Balers (10-3, 5-1), who are tied with Live Oak for first place, dwarfed the Vikings 16-6 in five innings on Saturday which followed a 9-2 defeat of the Vikes last Wednesday. Eric Diaz, Jr. enjoyed a big day Saturday, going 4-for-4 with a home run and a double, knocking in four runs. Diaz, Jr. has been tearing the cover off of it and is leading the T-CAL in batting with 14 hits in 20 trips (.700). Junior Anthony Synegal walloped his third home run of the year, while Josh Badillo added a triple. Kelly Kramer was the winning pitcher.
“Our hitting is starting to come around,” said Diaz, Jr. “It was just a matter of time. We expect a good battle (today) against Salinas.”
The Balers host a dangerous Salinas (10-8, 3-3) team today at 3:30 p.m. then travel to the Cowboys’ ranch on Thursday. And in case you’re wondering, the rubber match with the Acorns is in Hollister on April 30. That could have T-CAL title implications.
As for the Baler junior varsity, they barely beat North Salinas on Saturday 17-0 as winning pitcher Anthony Vasquez enjoyed a little bit of run support. Scott Mead was 3-3 with two triples and four RBI, while Karson Klauer was 2-2 with a homer. Other 2-for-2ers were Gabe Gaitan and Kris Bittner. Brian Rossi had a triple, while Cory Ferguson added 3 RBI.
And I didn’t miss the scheduled boys volleyball match with the Acorns last Friday. That match has been changed to April 7 in Hollister. The Balers (3-6, 0-3) are still looking for their first conference win after a 16-14, 4-15, 5-15, 11-15 loss to Seaside at home last Wednesday.
“We’ve had some lapses,” said coach Henke Mao. “We’ve been blocking better, but our defense hasn’t been good.”
After this Saturday’s action at the Alisal Tournament, starting at 8 a.m., the Balers hope to get off the schneid in league at Alisal next Wednesday and at Palma on Friday.
“We’re going to start winning soon,” promised Mao.
And, unfortunately, I’m sorry to report three setbacks to the boys track and field team. The worst appears the health of sprinter/long jumper Lee Osborne. Osborne, who didn’t participate in the Balers dual meet vs. Live Oak last Thursday, is out indefinitely with an irregular heartbeat. He is scheduled for an EKG in the immediate future.
“I’m extremely concerned about Lee’s health,” said Baler boys coach Randy Logue. “He not only could miss the season, but it could affect his whole career. He’s a fine athlete and we wish him the best.”
Two other boys track and field performers, one varsity, one frosh-soph, are out with broken bones. Matt Wynne, the Balers top pole vaulter, broke his hand in a pickup basketball game last week. And Jonathan Araiza, one of the top athletes on the frosh-soph team, broke his hip in the dual meet with Live Oak while running the 100-yard dash.
“We don’t know how it happened,” said Logue regarding Araiza’s injury. “He didn’t fall or anything. We think he was running faster than he has been.”
Meanwhile, many of the top Baler girls and boys tracksters were entered in the Stanford Invitational on Friday and Saturday.
“We didn’t envision placing high in the meet in the team standings,” said Logue. “We mainly send athletes up there to get the feel of performing in a big venue to get them ready for CCS.”
Steve Bianchi fared the best for the Balers, placing fifth in the triple jump with a season PR of 44-1 1/2. Thomas Fernandez, who battled the flu bug recently, was 20th with a leap of 40-5 1/4. Justin Tungate has been running well in the long hurdles. Tungate was 14th in the 400-hurdles with a swift time of 59:51. That was the fourth best time for CCS entrants.
Logue was thrilled about the 4X100 relay time of 44.83.
“That was the fastest time we’ve had here since 1995,” said Logue.
That team was comprised of Armando Larez, Willie Sanchez, Bianchi and Chris Pratt. The 4X400 team of Pratt, Bianchi, Tungate and Tamar Elbanhawy clocked a swift 3:32.30 for 19th place. The Balers also had a good time in the 4X800 as Jonathan Rivera, Adrian Perez, Jeff Spencer and Albert Sandoval clocked 8:29.08, good for 16th place.
The best of the Baler girls were Sarah Groman in the high jump and Stephanie Starritt in the pole vault. Groman went 5-2, her best mark of the year for sixth, while Starritt tied for sixth with a vault of 10-0. Groman just missed on two different occasions at 5-4.
Naomi Ruiz tossed the discus 114-6 for eighth place, but it was the third best mark for CCS entrants. Ruiz has a best of 120-0 this season. She also incurred a hyperextended elbow last Thursday, so Saturday’s mark was impressive indeed.
Allison Schmidt led after two laps in the 3,000 meters, but ended up 43rd with a time of 11:36.31. Kory Case was 17th in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:11.67.
The Balers are at Gilroy on Thursday, then head to the King City Relays on Saturday.
