Not that the Mustangs are short on talent by any means, but it
appears Gilroy High’s softball squad has more going for it than
players with cannons for arms, cat-like quickness on the base paths
and sweet swings that can smack pitches out of the park.
The Mustangs (17-5 overall) have that quality that is
unquantifiable: Camaraderie.
Not that the Mustangs are short on talent by any means, but it appears Gilroy High’s softball squad has more going for it than players with cannons for arms, cat-like quickness on the basepaths and sweet swings that can smack pitches out of the park.
The Mustangs (17-5 overall) have that quality that is unquantifiable: Camaraderie.
And it all starts with four girls who have been playing together since the ball rested on a tee just below their line of sight. Those girls – Brittany Balanesi, Caitlyn Pierotti, Kylie Herrada and Lauryn Chris – developed a love of the game at age eight, and have been using their skills and friendship to good use as teammates ever since. They also find themselves with a future in the game, as all four seniors will be playing college ball next spring.
Balanesi and Herrada will both be playing at the Division II level at Stanislaus State and San Francisco State, respectively, while Pierotti will be heading a short distance to Bethany, an NAIA school in Santa Cruz, and Chris will be traversing the country to get to Canisius, a Division I school in Buffalo, New York.
While each brings something slightly different to the table according to their high school coach Catherine Hallada – Pierotti is the vocal leader behind the plate at catcher, Herrada is the smooth operator at short stop, Chris is the intense second baseman and Balanesi is the all-around contributor who plays a variety of positions – what makes them similar is what holds them, and the team, together.
“I’m glad they still have the attitude of playing high school right now because a lot of girls have the tendency when they sign (with a college) to check-out,” Hallada said. “This is my third year (coaching at GHS) and they definitely have the most talent all together, as a whole.”
Through years of Little League and more recently with a traveling softball team known as the Salinas Wildcats 18 Gold, the four have played together for so long, in so many games, that a sixth-sense of what the other is going to do can sometimes take over during games.
“It actually works so much better (on the field) because we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and when we’re down we know how to pick each other up.” Balanesi said. “Our team is our family. We’re always going to team dinners. We’re always together.”
Pierotti and Herrada get a similar sense when playing.
“Just because we’ve been all playing together for so long, it’s nice to know how everyone plays,” Pierotti said. “Even though sometimes we won’t communicate, we know what each other are going to do.”
“Me and Lo, we’ve been playing up the middle for four years now,” Herrada said of her double-play partner, Chris. “I don’t know how to explain it. We’re just able to communicate … without having to talk.”
Coaches are as fond of the four as the players are of one another.
“We love the Gilroy kids. We’d like more of them,” Wildcats assistant coach Dan Miller said.
Lending a hand in the recruitment of each player, Miller, along with Wildcats head coach Geno Sigala, have made their team’s sole focus on improvement and playing at the next level. With summer schedules that make playing travel softball a full-time job, the commitment is extreme in hours and money – Miller estimated travel, equipment and meals cost over $2,000 for each player for the three-month season – but it has clearly paid off for the four.
“What I tell the kids when they visit the colleges … when they’re done with the visit, ‘If you couldn’t play softball would this still be the place to be?’ ” Miller said. “Because if it’s not, then that’s not the place to be.”
Each of the four college-bound ballplayers said the school they chose fit exactly what they were looking for. Of course, going their separate ways won’t be easy.
“It will be hard leaving,” Chris said. “We try to stay off that subject.”
The one subject that each player won’t shrug off is which team they want to face in the playoffs: San Benito. With a couple friends from the Wildcats playing for the Lady ‘Balers, that will be the best send off for college any of the Mustangs could ask for.
