Gillroy rallies late but can’t overcome Haybalers in 6-3
loss
By Scott Campbell Staff WRiter
Gilroy – The Gilroy softball team entered Thursday’s game against rival San Benito brimming with confidence. The Mustangs were coming off a narrow victory over tough North Salinas and enjoyed an impressive runner-up showing in the Steinbeck Classic last weekend. Moreover, Gilroy dominated the Haybalers in the teams’ first meeting, holding host San Benito to just one hit in a shutout last month.
But even though the Mustangs struck first, scoring a run in the second, they fell lifeless for too long a stretch and paid the price. Though Gilroy found its batting stroke in the seventh, the ‘Balers had built up a five-run lead – more than enough to hand the host Mustangs a 6-3 Tri-County Athletic League defeat.
“Today is definitely a step back from our previous games. Sometimes, we come out ready to play, and other times, we’re not as determined,” Gilroy second baseman Lauryn Chris said. “We didn’t come out with the intensity today. I think we underestimated how well Hollister could play.”
San Benito (16-2, 3-2 TCAL) showed the Mustangs early that it was focused on atoning for one of its two losses on the year. The ‘Balers nearly took a quick lead when Ari Romero connected on a two-out single in the second that sent pinch runner Danielle Scibuola around third and heading home. But Gilroy right fielder Jasmine Perez unleashed a perfect strike that gunned down Scibuola at the plate, getting the Mustangs out of the inning unscathed.
Gilroy (12-6, 4-3 TCAL) used a walk, a single and three ‘Balers’ errors to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second, and looked primed to score even more with a runner on third and no outs. But on senior Sarah Villar’s grounder to third, Gilroy baserunner Liz Ines broke for home, and San Benito third baseman Jacqueline Clayton gloved the ball in plenty of time to throw her out at the plate. A strikeout and a foul out later, ‘Balers starter Marissa Ibarra quieted the Mustangs’ threat.
Nonetheless, San Benito knew it would have to find a way to get its bats on track to have a chance to beat Villar. Gilroy’s senior ace had her way with the ‘Balers in a one-hit, 2-0 masterpiece on March 21, but the visitors finally broke through in the third inning.
San Benito’s Ashley Perreira and Elena Fata singled one batter apart, but Villar induced a popout for the second out and then put ‘Balers No. 3 hitter Kristen Archuleta in an 0-2 hole. Refusing to succumb to the Gilroy starter, Archuleta worked the count and eventually slapped a single to center that drove in Perreira to tie the game at 1.
“To me, that was the turning point of the game,” San Benito head coach Scott Smith said. “It was huge. That really set the tone. If she’d not done that, I’m not sure we would’ve come back.”
Buoyed by Archuleta’s hit, San Benito put scored in three of the last four innings. Sophomore Lizzy Gatto played the biggest role, doubling and scoring in a two-run ‘Balers’ fourth and crushing a two-run home run to put San Benito up 6-1 in the seventh.
Meanwhile, after Gilroy scored the game’s first run, Ibarra set down 17 of the next 21 Mustangs she faced, allowing only one runner to reach second base. San Benito’s freshman starter finished with a complete-game victory, striking out five and issuing two walks.
The Mustangs finally got their offense going with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, receiving back-to-back singles by Yolanda Esquivel and Chris. When Amanda Tellez followed with a two-run double, the Mustangs pulled to within 6-3, but Gilroy head coach Catherine Hallada said her team needed to be focused much sooner.
“Our intensity before every game isn’t quite there,” Hallada related. “Seventh inning? That’s a different story. Seventh inning, they’re ready to come out and win.”
Tellez said the Mustangs thought they let an opportunity slip away.
“We’re very frustrated,” Gilroy’s third baseman related. “We beat ’em last time … we just didn’t execute when we needed to. We wait ’til the last inning to start hitting the ball. When it’s too late, we start hitting.”
Gilroy managed seven hits on the day, while San Benito posted nine against Villar and reliever Brittany Balanesi. Chris, Tellez and Ines all recorded two hits for Gilroy.
Gatto led San Benito’s offense with six total bases and Romero contributed a 2-for-3, one run effort.
Gilroy returns to action with a visit to Live Oak on Tuesday.
Scott Campbell covers sports for South Valley Newspapers. You can reach him at (831) 637-5566 (x334) or at sc*******@***********ws.com.
