San Benito senior Craig Slibsager doesn’t have the most varsity experience on the Balers baseball team, but after two Central Coast Section playoff games, no Baler is playing better.
For the second game in a row Slibsager drove in the winning run for San Benito, helping lift the Balers to a second-straight appearance in the CCS semifinal game.
Against Archbishop Mitty on Saturday, Slibsager’s fourth-inning RBI wasn’t the Balers final run of a 4-0 victory, but it ignited a stumbling offense.
“It’s a great opportunity if you have a chance to take the lead like that,” Slibsager said. “It’s a 0-0 ball game, and when you get that first run across like that it’s huge. We got all the momentum. We scored two more runs after that and we pretty much got all the momentum after that – it was huge.”
The Slibsager game-winning RBI came just three days after his 2-out, walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning against Sequoia to keep the Balers season alive.
Through two games so far this postseason, Slibsager has proven to be clutch.
“He has been in this situation so may times,” San Benito manager Billy Aviles said. “He is just clutch. He has been in pressure situations since he was young and he lives for it. Right now every hitter in our lineup wants to be that guy. And that’s what you want out of your hitters. Everyone wants to know get the game-winning RBI. When you get that going, good things will happen.”
For Slibsager, it’s earned him the nickname “Clutch Cowboy Craig.”
“It feels great to be able to come through like that,” Slibsager said after Wednesday’s win.
On Saturday, Slibsager’s clutch play didn’t just come from his bat.
In the fifth inning – an inning after the Balers took a 3-0 lead – Mitty opened with two quick baserunners. After a full-count walk to Mitty’s Nick Jackson putting runners on first and second with no outs, San Benito starter Jake Cabral was chased from the game.
Relief pitcher Skyler Fuss entered to protect the Balers lead. After getting ahead of Mitty’s No. 3 hitter Preston Caldera, Fuss forced a hard ground ball to Slibsager at third.
In almost one motion, Slibsager picked up the ball, touched third base and fired to first for a double play. The play immediately eliminated the Mitty threat, as Fuss struck out the next batter.
“That made my inning,” Fuss said. “If I don’t get that ground ball, we get one out. I was feeling pretty confident after I got the ground balls. I was just trying to stay ahead in the count and just get them out.”
After entering in the fifth inning, Fuss threw three complete innings and allowed only two singles to close the win.
“He was lights out,” Aviles said. “Anytime you can combine for a shutout is good. Cabral was good — he was excellent as well.”
Cabral went four innings, allowing three hits and no runs. Cabral allowed a baserunner in every inning — including hitting three batters in the first inning — but only three base hits.
“They battled,” Slibsager said of the team’s pitchers. “They went after guys. They put the ball in play — that’s what they do. If they put the ball in play we are going to make the play.”
And that’s the way to win this time of the year, Aviles said.
“It’s playoff baseball,” Aviles said. “It’s pitching and defense, and the kids did well. We played good defense and the kids played well.”
On offense, Mitty pitched around catcher Jacob Tonascia, who was intentionally walked twice, so the offensive production fell to Slibsager and Anthony Ocampo.
The San Benito designated hitter went 1-for-2 with a two-RBI single in the fourth to break open the game. Ocampo was also hit by a pitch in the sixth-inning, leading to the Balers’ final run.
Michael Breen drove in that sixth inning run when Mitty mishandled a ground ball.
To continue their success so far this postseason, the Balers will need to continue to play good defense and get those timely hits, Aviles said.
“We just have to do a lot of the same things,” Aviles said. “This was a great win. The kids are having fun and we are going to keep it rolling.”
The Balers (23-6) will face Division I No. 2 seed St. Francis (26-4-1) at 4 p.m. Wednesday at San Jose Municipal Stadium.
“We just need to have another game like this,” Fuss said. “If we keep playing like this, we won’t lose.”
