San Benito makes history with third straight CCS title after
beating rival Gilroy, 8-3
San Jose
Once, twice, three times a Lady ‘Balers championship.
San Benito kept the base paths busy and Gilroy couldn’t seem to catch a break in Saturday afternoon’s Division I softball title game at PAL Stadium in San Jose. As a result, the Lady ‘Balers won 8-3, giving the club a perfect 3-0 record against the rival Mustangs this season, as well as their third Central Coast Section Division I championship in as many years.
“I think this [championship] is probably one of the sweeter ones,” San Benito manager Scott Smith said. “This one, we were almost dealing with complacency, but I think I misconstrued that (earlier in the season) because it was a calmness.”
A level head at the plate and in the field by the Lady ‘Balers kept Gilroy from ever being able to seriously chip away at the six runs scored in the first two innings.
After hitting a batter and walking two – both on full counts – in the bottom of the first, the pitching hand of Gilroy’s Melinda Ortiz was struck by a Lizzy Gatto line drive that resulted in a run. Another full-count walk and a hit-batsman, followed by a fielder’s choice play at home that didn’t result in an out, put Gilroy in a 4-0 hole by the end of the first frame.
“We started out strong and all of the hard work paid off,” San Benito shortstop Elena Fata said after the game.
Strong may be an understatement considering pitcher Marisa Ibarra and the Lady ‘Balers defense forced Gilroy into going 1-2-3 in each of the first three innings while building a commanding lead.
After walking the first two batters of the second frame, Ortiz was forced to exit the game as the swelling on her pitching hand worsened. Tossing three straight complete-game shutouts entering the contest, it was an anti-climactic ending for Ortiz, one of 10 Gilroy seniors and the ace of Gilroy’s pitching staff.
Freshman Sarah Lira stepped in to pitch for the Mustangs, allowing the two runners already aboard in the second to score on a double by the Canisius-bound Gatto, as well as two more runs in the fifth. Those runs were set up by a triple by Lindsey Clay, an RBI by Bre Fata on a well-hit ball that resulted in an error and an RBI single by JC Clayton four batters later.
Phenomenal catches by Lady ‘Baler outfielders Bre Fata, who made a diving snag on a Lira line drive to deny a run in the fourth, and Rachel Maheu, who robbed a home run shot from Emily Castro at the wall in the fifth, prevented the Mustangs from ever taking a hold of momentum. Castro’s at-bat scored Gilroy’s first run of the game, plating Brittany Balanesi who was tagging up after a triple, but the play was a moral victory for San Benito as the damage was limited.
“It seemed like we got all the breaks today,” Smith said. “We had two or three plays that could have gone the other way.”
“The girls … were making hits but they got robbed a few times,” Mustangs coach Catherine Hallada said. “But that’s good defense on [San Benito’s] part.”
Gilroy attempted a final rally in the seventh when Castro hit a laser down the line, but the ball deflected off Gatto, who was playing third base, directly to Elena Fata in the hole. Balanesi, on second after hitting an RBI double, took just a few steps from the bag after the hit, but the bounce immediately placed her in a pickle. With two outs recorded, Gilroy scored the game’s last run when Angelica Galindo doubled to score Castro.
Pulling off the first three-peat in CCS Division I history, San Benito marked the occasion with an exclamation point as Ibarra recorded her fourth strikeout to end the game. San Benito’s final record on the season is 28-4. Gilroy closes out the year 22-9.
“We came out ready to play,” Ibarra said. “We wanted all the plays to go our way and they did.”
GH 000 010 2 – 3 5 1
SB 420 020 X – 8 6 0
