San Benito, which earned the 2-seed out of Pool B, trailed 6-1
against Reno, Nev., Galena High before mounting a comeback,
eventually taking an 11-7 win
LAS VEGAS
Trailing 6-1 at one point, the San Benito Haybalers clawed their way back in the final game of the Easton Sports Easter Classic Friday against Galena High of Reno, Nev., eventually knotting the game at 6-all before riding a big seventh inning to an 11-7 victory.
San Benito, which earned the 2-seed from Pool B, finishes the elite Las Vegas tournament with a 3-1 record and improves to 17-4-1 overall this season.
The ‘Balers plated five runs in the top half of the seventh, breaking a 6-6 game with Galena (14-4 overall). Although the Reno high school added one in the home half, San Benito’s large cushion was enough for a four-run win.
San Benito earned the 2-seed after Douglas High of Minden, Nev., defeated Montclair Prep of Van Nuys 16-4 on Thursday, supplying Douglas with the top seed in Pool B.
Douglas was the lone team to defeat San Benito in Pool B. The ‘Balers lost to the Nevada high school 10-4 in the opening game on Wednesday.
The ‘Balers rebounded, though, scoring a 4-2 win over Bishop Gorman 2 as well as a comfortable 13-4 victory against Montclair Prep to finish with a 2-1 record in pool play, and setting up Friday’s contest with Galena High, the No. 2 seed out of Pool C.
Douglas, meanwhile, will play in Saturday’s consolation game against Vauxhall of Canada, while host Bishop Gorman, which is ranked No. 19 in the nation by USA Today and has outscored its first four opponents by an 85-4 margin, will play Newbury Park (Calif.) in the championship.
The ‘Balers will return to Tri-County Athletic League play on Tuesday at Everett Alvarez. First pitch is at 4 p.m.
An expanded version of this story will appear in Tuesday’s Free Lance.
