For nearly six innings, San Benito was far from the team that’s expected to challenge for a Central Coast Section title Monday against Gilroy. In the only game this year against rival Mustangs, the Balers couldn’t find a way inside the strike zone – walking eight batters – and couldn’t take advantage of their offensive opportunities.
Instead, it was the Mustangs (1-1-1) who played a like a better team for the majority of the night.
After Gilroy took a 4-1 lead in the fifth inning, San Benito finally responded in the sixth inning with four runs to escape with a 5-4 victory over its rival.
It was a dramatic way to open the home season for the Balers, who are now 2-0 after defeating Valley Christian last week. But after struggling for most of the game, there was no reason to celebrate.
“They finally had some good approaches at the plate and the pitches they got to hit, they hit them,” San Benito coach Billy Aviles said. “Early in the game they were just swinging at balls out of the zone. The biggest thing was the walks. Our pitchers walked too many guys and we left too many people on base. We left 10 guys on base. If we do this against Mitty we are going to struggle. We just have to have better approaches at the plate and throw strikes.”
And it was a walk that started the Balers’ sixth-inning rally.
With two outs, Michael Breen walked. Garrett Kelly followed with another walk, before Josh George, who finished 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, knocked in Breen with a single to right field.
“Walks killed us today,” Aviles said. “You can’t defend a walk. That was the story of the game, even for them.”
Gilroy then walked the next two batters – Cody Freitas and Jacob Tonascia – pulling the score to 4-3. Gilroy’s Marcus Medina then threw consecutive passed balls, allowing the Balers to take a 5-4 lead.
In their sixth-inning rally, the Balers needed only one hit to grab the lead.
“This is probably one of the better teams we will face all year,” Gilroy coach Billy Holler said. “The boys played well, and we got to the sixth inning and we didn’t close it out. So that’s about it. It’s kind of a privilege to play theses guys. They moved us out of the league and Billy (Aviles) gave us this game. It’s a rivalry and it should always be that way.”
Because it was the only time the two teams will play each other this year, the game had a different feel to it. Playing at night – instead of the late afternoon game time – and at the Babe Ruth Field at Veterans Memorial Park, both teams played in front of crowded bleachers. Proceeds from the game were going to local youth sports, Aviles said.
“We wanted to do it with Gilroy,” he said. “It’s a rivalry. We wanted to continue the rivalry and we wanted to get the community fired up over baseball and in the process benefit youth sports.”
He continued: “It’s good because Gilroy isn’t in our league this year. You know, we wanted to keep that rivalry going. It was really nice to get a turnout, especially with a game like this.”
Despite a myriad of walks, both teams struggled to build hits. Both teams finished with five hits, and San Benito had the game’s only two extra-base hits.
Gilroy’s Ron Reed finished 2-for-2 with a walk and an RBI. Dallas Wilson dealt the Mustangs’ biggest blow in the fourth inning on an two-run single, giving Gilroy an early 2-1 lead. After Wilson advance to third, the next batter, Josh Boykin, drove in the Mustangs’ next run on a groundout.
Their 4-1 lead, though, lasted only one inning before the Balers finally exploded for four runs of their own. But it was a good experience for the Mustangs, who begin Monterey Bay League play at 3:30 p.m. March 4 against Watsonville.
“It’s always going to be a great experience playing them,” Holler said. “It gives this team a lot of confidence playing these guys.”
On the mound, Balers starter Justin Goodwin struggled to find the strike zone, walking five batters in three innings. He allowed two runs despite not allowing a hit and striking out four. Enrique Rodriguez earned the win after holding Gilroy to only one hit in 1 2/3 innings.
Gilroy’s Jalynd Gallardo allowed three runs in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out three batters over that time.
The Balers play Archbishop Mitty at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Wilcox High.
