Lady ‘Balers one win from CCS title after a season-altering
defensive play keys victory over Carlmont
By Scott Campbell
Hollister – It was just one play. But on it swung the fate of two teams.
Carlmont put the winning runner just 60 feet from the plate on Tuesday – a run that would put the Scots in the Central Coast Section Division I softball championship game and eliminate San Benito.
But thanks to an alert defensive play – a simple exchange between catcher Ashley Perreira and pitcher Marissa Ibarra – San Benito not only got out of that inning, but then exploded for seven runs in the ninth to snatch the semifinal victory from the clutches of defeat.
Using a defensive play it had practiced all season but never executed, San Benito caught Steele and Carlmont off-guard and grabbed all the momentum the Scots had just taken.
“Huge. It was huge,” ‘Balers head coach Scott Smith said after his team nailed Carlmont’s lead runner on a seldom-invoked ‘look-back’ or ‘pitcher’s-circle’ rule.
“The turning point,” San Benito center fielder Rachel Maheu called it after her team’s 7-0 win.
With runners at first and third with one out, Carlmont’s Katy Suko took off from first base as Ibarra delivered a pitch to the plate. Instead of gunning the ball to second in hopes of throwing out Suko or simply holding onto the ball, Perreira rifled a throw back to Ibarra. Steele, the Scots’ lead runner, came off third base and momentarily froze, only to be called out by the third-base umpire on the pitcher’s-circle rule.
Smith said the play developed just as he had drawn it up.
“We practice that play,” Smith said. “It’s a set play we call. If (the runner) hesitates for one second … they have one second to get back to the base. It caught ’em sleeping.”
Carlmont head coach Jim Liggett, who protested the call immediately after the play, resigned himself afterwards to falling victim to an unusual ruling.
“You have to be sure (the runner froze),” said Liggett of the umpire’s call. Noting that the ‘look-back’ rule hadn’t been called in a Scots’ game all season, the Carlmont coach was dismayed it popped up with a championship-game berth hanging in the balance.
Rendered helpless through eight innings in the face of dominant Scots starter Ashley Chinn, the Lady ‘Balers (28-3) made the most of their new life. After being no-hit to that point while Chinn struck out 15 batters, No. 3 San Benito got consecutive bunt singles to open the ninth and then struck for three more hits for its seven-run outburst.
“It was like we were getting a second chance,” said Maheu, who singled twice, scored and drove in a run in the decisive inning, “Or a ninth chance, if you want to go by innings.”
While the ‘Balers gained confidence, the Scots lost it. Chinn, who had allowed just one baserunner through eight innings, saw the first six ‘Baler batters reach base, as San Benito pushed across three runs before she could record an out. Carlmont center fielder Kelly Cunningham dropped a fly ball for a two-run error, and the game quickly spiraled downhill for the seven-time CCS champions.
After compiling a 29-1 record entering Tuesday’s semifinal, No. 2 Carlmont saw its dream season come to a crushing end.
But for San Benito, the stunning turn of events translated into a golden opportunity. On the strength of their victory, the Lady ‘Balers advance to Saturday’s championship game against No. 12 Watsonville. San Benito will gun for its first-ever softball championship in its third title-game appearance.
Reflecting on the play that made the comeback possible and kept the team’s championship dreams alive, Perreira said, “It makes or breaks a lot of games.”
Or seasons.
