Senior sets GHS records in homers (8) and RBIs (50), ties
batting average (.500)
MORGAN HILL – Forget Barry Bonds.
Gilroy’s got Ben Hemeon.
The senior first baseman completed the greatest offensive single-season in Gilroy High School baseball history with Monday’s 3-for-4 day, which included his record-setting eighth home run.
“It feels good to get the record, but we didn’t pull it off at the end,” said Hemeon, following the wild 15-14 loss to Live Oak. “That’s awesome (to break the record). It’s a great feeling.”
Hemeon’s mammoth blast cleared the 400-foot marker in centerfield of Live Oak’s Sarich Field – pushing him past the previous best of seven homers in a season set by Dennis Castro in 1991 and Chris Gimenez in 2001.
“When he passed me at third base, I said at least it was a legitimate shot. You didn’t do it in a crackerjack park with a shot that barely got out,” head coach Clint Wheeler said. “Today, he solidified himself as the MVP of the league.”
Hemeon’s six-RBI outing gave him the single-season school record for runs-batted-in with 50 and also tied him for Gilroy High’s single-season batting average mark of .500 (44-for-88).
“He had a year,” said Wheeler of his senior slugger, who batted a mere .270 with one homer in his junior campaign. “I knew he had some pop. His biggest problem was his pitch selection.”
Hemeon absolutely crushed a curve ball delivered by Live Oak senior Eric Abbott for a three-run shot in the top of the sixth inning.
“I hit it hard, but it’s deep in center so I kept running it out,” Hemeon said. “I knew I hit it well.”
But it was not until Hemeon reached second base that he looked to the outfield and saw the ball was out of the park.
“I was trying not to think about (the record),” said Hemeon, who went homerless in two straight games. “I was thinking about it too much against North Salinas (on Thursday), so I was just trying to get base hits.”
In his first at-bat, Hemeon clubbed an RBI double down the left-field line. After popping out to second base in the third inning, Hemeon was hit by a pitch in the fifth inning and even stole a base. Live Oak then scored nine runs in the bottom of the fifth before he got another whack at it.
Following his historic swing in the sixth, Hemeon nearly added to his record with a hard-hit ball to deep center again in the seventh inning. His shot sailed over the centerfielder’s head but bounced once before going over the fence.
“I thought it had a chance, but it was more on a line than the first one,” Hemeon said.
Hemeon has hit two seventh-inning grand slams this season – an April 1 game-winning shot in a 13-9 win over Salinas and a May 1 record-tying blast in a 12-8 loss to Hollister. The slugger has hit for power in clutch situations with an April 26 game-tying, two-run homer in the sixth-inning of a 7-6 comeback win over Live Oak and an April 28 two-run, sixth-inning shot in a 6-5 victory over Salinas.
“I’m just seeing it really well,” said Hemeon, who has even surprised himself with his power hitting. “I worked out a lot and got a little bigger.”
The three-sport athlete was the starting quarterback for the varsity football team in the fall and a reserve forward for the varsity basketball team in the winter. Hemeon then joined the baseball team without a secure starting position in the field. He was used as a designated hitter and third baseman before permanently solidifying his spot at first base.
When Monday’s game concluded against Live Oak, Hemeon was on the go, rushing out to the Charlie Wedemeyer All-Star Football Banquet. He will play in the annual senior game over the summer for his final high school contest and then he is leaning toward playing baseball at Sacramento State University next season.
