Before the playoffs started, Gilroy softball coach Catherine
Hallada said she’d welcome a rematch with San Benito.
Salinas – Before the playoffs started, Gilroy softball coach Catherine Hallada said she’d welcome a rematch with San Benito.
Now, her team will have that chance.
The sixth-seeded Mustangs broke open a tie game with three runs in the third inning to defeat No. 3 Lynbrook 5-1 Saturday in the Central Coast Section Division I quarterfinals at the Salinas Sports Complex.
That sets up a showdown at 7pm Thursday with the long-time rival Haybalers in the semifinals. The winner will advance to the CCS finals Saturday against either Notre Dame-Salinas or Notre Dame-Belmont.
“We were hitting the ball pretty well,” Hallada said of Saturday’s win. “It was just a matter of getting our hits through especially in that one inning. We’re going to try to keep hitting and clean up our defense.”
Junior pitcher Melinda Ortiz pitched a complete game, giving up six hits and striking out four while totaling 122 pitches.
“Mo pitched a great game,” Hallada said. “I couldn’t have asked for anything more from her. She hit her spots and had a couple key strikeouts. We did a good job of leaving their two good hitters on the bases and not allowing them to score.”
Lynbrook scored a run in the first, but Gilroy tied it in the second, broke it open in the third and added another run in the fifth.
In the final inning, the Vikings didn’t go down easily. They put two runner on base, but Ortiz worked out of the jam to secure the win.
Lauryn Chris led the Mustangs with three hits, and Patty Olvera had an RBI and two hits, including a triple. Others with hits were Amanda Tellez, Brittany Balanesi, Kylie Herrada, Jasmine Perez and Alicia Reese.
“We started off shaky,” said third baseman Tellez. “But we picked it up. We took advantage of errors as we were hitting the ball hard on the ground.”
The win allows Gilroy (25-7) an opportunity to avenge itself against San Benito. The ‘Balers, who gutted out a 2-1 win over Monta Vista to advance, beat the Mustangs 7-0 in the CCS quarterfinals last season.
San Benito also beat Gilroy 7-0 and 4-2 wins during Tri-County Athletic League play this year on its way to the league title, but the Mustangs did hand the ‘Balers one of their two league losses a year ago.
Gilroy 013 010 0 – 5 10 4
Lynbrook 100 000 0 – 1 6 4
