Local girls earn berth at nationals
The Hollister Heat’s 14-and-over A travel softball team is
heading to Tennessee the first week in August.
The Heat’s goal of earning a return trip to the Amateur Softball
Association’s 14U National Softball Tournament became official
after the Heat captured the Northern California Championship last
weekend at Twin Creeks in Sunnyvale.
Local girls earn berth at nationals
The Hollister Heat’s 14-and-over A travel softball team is heading to Tennessee the first week in August.
The Heat’s goal of earning a return trip to the Amateur Softball Association’s 14U National Softball Tournament became official after the Heat captured the Northern California Championship last weekend at Twin Creeks in Sunnyvale.
The national tournament will take place in Johnson City, Tenn., where Hollister’s top girls’ softball team will vie for the title against a field that includes some 120 teams from across the nation.
Last year the same team finished in the top 20 in the tournament.
“I think we could be in the top 10 this year, if not better,” said Heat coach Darrell Clayton. “We have the same pitching staff. We lost a few girls but we picked a couple up. I think we’ll do well.”
Since this Heat team is an A (highest) level team Clayton is allowed to recruit any players from the Northern California District.
“We have two players from Los Banos, three from Salinas and four from Morgan Hill,” Clayton said. “The rest are from Hollister.”
Two of the Salinas players are Bina and Gina Abbott – the sisters of University of Tennessee All-American Monica Abbott. Although their older sister has done nothing but shatter NCAA Division I pitching records since she’s been on the Lady Vols team, her younger sisters don’t pitch for the Heat.
Bina sees the bulk of her time at first and second base and Gina catches and plays first as well.
Part of the reason for Clayton’s high expectations heading into the national tournament is the team’s solid pitching staff, which is built around a strong defense.
One of those pitchers is Hollister’s Marisa Ibarra. During the high school season Ibarra, a freshman, led the San Benito High varsity team to its first-ever Central Coast Section softball title. She posted a 0.60 ERA and ended the season with seven shutouts in a row. This summer the outstanding hurler has a 6-0 record and has allowed only two runs all season.
“She’s really calm on the mound. Nothing bothers her,” Clayton said. “When someone gets a hit, she says she’ll get the next batter. She doesn’t get flustered.”
On her high school team she pitched every game and wasn’t in the batting lineup. With the Heat, she gets to pitch, play some third base and hit – which she likes most of all.
“I like this better because I get to do more things,” Ibarra said. “This team works together really well.”
Ibarra has the option to bat and play out in the field because Clayton has the luxury of having three solid pitchers.
The other two are Sarah Solis and Mary Hernandez.
Solis is from Salinas. During the high school season she played softball at Notre Dame and saw time at both the JV and varsity levels. Solis’ record on the hill this season is 7-1.
“She has a lot of movement on her ball and is able to hit her spots,” Clayton said.
Hernandez pitched on the San Benito High JV team this past spring. Her record is 4-1. As the team’s only left-hander in the rotation, Clayton enjoys bringing her in to give the opposition a different look. He also likes that she is effective at keeping the ball down in the strike zone and is able to hit her spots.
Another advantage this Heat team has is experience in big ball games. In addition to Ibarra three other players on the roster were on the winning Baler varsity team that won CCS.
They are: Hernandez, who was called up to varsity late in the season, J.C. Clayton, who played shortstop and Bre Fata, who also cracked into the experienced Baler lineup for her prowess at third and second base.
“At this point these girls look at any game as just another game,” said Clayton. “Playing in the CCS playoffs for most of the last month of the school year really helped. They’re all having fun and smiling out there – not tense or uptight, and they have a lot of confidence in each other.”
Their biggest asset may be the team’s overall camaraderie, according to Clayton.
“The defense is really strong and the chemistry is good,” said Clayton, who has coached in the league for 12 years. “The girls have gelled really well together and they’re having fun.”
