It’s not difficult to admire the Gilroy Mustangs taking the
diamond in Saturday’s Central Coast Section softball championship
against rival Hollister.
I asked several Gilroy players before the season what would be
the dream ending and the answer was beating the Lady Balers for a
title. The thrill of winning CCS against any other club would have
been a little hollow. The Mustangs want revenge.
But beating the Lady Balers will be no easy task. The Mustangs
haven’t topped their fiercest rivals since the first meeting
between the two clubs during the 2006 season. San Benito went on to
capture its first of three consecutive CCS crowns that season, with
last year’s title coming at the expense of the Mustangs. In fact,
Hollister has ended Gilroy’s season in the playoffs each of the
last three years.
I considered trying to focus on one singular aspect about
Saturday’s matchup that would make you say,
”
Aha! This game is going to be interesting for reason X.
”
I couldn’t do it. Instead I came up with seven interesting
subplots.
It’s not difficult to admire the Gilroy Mustangs taking the diamond in Saturday’s Central Coast Section softball championship against rival Hollister.
I asked several Gilroy players before the season what would be the dream ending and the answer was beating the Lady Balers for a title. The thrill of winning CCS against any other club would have been a little hollow. The Mustangs want revenge.
But beating the Lady Balers will be no easy task. The Mustangs haven’t topped their fiercest rivals since the first meeting between the two clubs during the 2006 season. San Benito went on to capture its first of three consecutive CCS crowns that season, with last year’s title coming at the expense of the Mustangs. In fact, Hollister has ended Gilroy’s season in the playoffs each of the last three years.
I considered trying to focus on one singular aspect about Saturday’s matchup that would make you say, “Aha! This game is going to be interesting for reason X.”
I couldn’t do it. Instead I came up with seven interesting subplots.
1. To see how far this Gilroy club has grown over the course of this season is to know the difference between winning and losing often comes down to attitude and chemistry. Talent has never been an issue with this year’s Mustangs despite losing 10 seniors from last year’s club, four of whom now compete at the collegiate level.
Getting the older players on this season’s team to jell with six sophomores and two freshman took time, but everyone seems to have worked past their differences and is on the same page. Or as GHS manager Catherine Hallada put it: “If it’s still there, they’re hiding it pretty well.”
2. Gilroy’s last win against Hollister happens to be the first and only victory for Hallada against the Lady Balers. Saturday’s game will be Hallada’s last at Gilroy as the P.E. teacher and Mustangs’ coach of four years will be moving over to Christopher High in the fall.
3. Jasmine Perez is the only player on Gilroy’s roster who knows what it’s like to beat Hollister. Playing on the varsity team as a freshman, Perez, now a senior, is considered a game-time decision for Saturday’s game. It seems crazy to think she won’t play. Hit by a pitch on her throwing arm in Tuesday’s seventh-inning rally against North Salinas, Perez did not play the last three and a half innings of the game. Hallada said the club’s best hitter will be a game-time decision to occupy her spot in center field. It’s quite possible, though, she could serve as the designated hitter for Gilroy’s pitcher.
4. San Benito senior pitcher Marissa Ibarra also played in Hollister’s last loss to the Mustangs. It is her only career defeat to Gilroy in the 12 games she’s pitched. A loss would be some bookend to the career of a pitcher who has won 107 games and only lost 11.
5. Gilroy’s Melanie Morelos is only a sophomore, but you might not find another player carrying herself with more confidence Saturday. Hallada said getting Morelos to come out of her shell has been a work in progress, but all I saw in Thursday’s contest was a catcher in complete control. She barked out orders to teammates, kept her head high after going down by four runs and then recorded two incredibly clutch hits to help win the game. It’s always fun to see a player take the next step.
6. Sisters Emily and Alissa Castro, the former a senior and the latter a junior, each made huge plays against North Salinas, and it seems suitable to note the two plays couldn’t have been more different.
Alissa came up with a big hit to start the Gilroy rally in the seventh, while Emily made a game-saving catch in the bottom of the eighth.
It’s seems appropriate to mention considering Hallada says the sisters’ personalities are far from the same.
7. Doing my part for the overall karma of GHS softball – which may helped itself to some karma points after earning the “Pursuing Victory with Honor” award as a team from CCS following a win over top-seeded Carlmont last week – I asked Hallada who would be pitching in Saturday’s game.
“I can’t tell you that,” she said.
I’ve asked her the same question before each playoff game, so there’s no blaming the sportswriter for disregarding superstitions.
