Mustangs, seniors wrap up regular season with 10-0 romp of
Sobrato
Gilroy – In her potentially last game on the Gilroy High softball field, Mustang senior Sarah Villar had a first.
Villar hit no home runs at Gilroy’s home field in three years worth of games with the varsity softball team. But on Senior Day Thursday in a 10-0 win over Sobrato, Villar powered a solo home run in the bottom of the third inning over the fence in left-center field for the Mustangs’ sixth run.
“It really had to do with timing,” Villar said of her hit.
Timing, in more ways than one.
The homer was not only Villar’s first on the field, but the first home run hit by a Gilroy player over the fence since it was put in two years ago at the GHS softball field.
The home run was the main highlight of Gilroy’s five-inning win over the first-year varsity Bulldog team. The Mustangs produced eight hits, but scored most of their runs on past balls and throwing errors.
“We have a lot of speed on the bases and we take advantage when teams make mistakes,” said Gilroy head coach Catherine Hallada, whose team made do without junior third baseman Amanda Tellez, sophomore catcher Brittany Balanesi (broken finger) and senior outfielder Liz Ines (injured thumb/shoulder), all starters.
With the win, Gilroy (14-9) closed out Tri-County Athletic League play in third place at 6-6. Sobrato, which moves to the Blossom Valley Athletic League next season with Live Oak, finished 0-20 and 0-13.
Before the game, the Gilroy team and fans honored the seniors, Ines and Villar. Ines, usually the team’s starting center fielder, has been out for the past two weeks with injuries and wasn’t able to play Thursday.
“Sitting and watching is kind of hard,” said Ines, who plans on returning for next week’s CCS playoffs. “I don’t like to sit out.”
Said Hallada about Ines’ absence, “We need her. She has been a key outfielder in center field and on offense as well…We’re missing her.”
Villar opened the game by striking out three Sobrato batters. The senior took the complete game win, striking out eight and walking none in the one-hitter.
By the end of the second inning, Gilroy led 5-0. Villar made it 6-0 with her home run in the third. Junior first baseman Patty Olvera put two more runs on the board for the Mustangs in the bottom of the fourth with a two-RBI single. In the next at-bat, Villar beat out a grounder to third base for a single that drove in Olvera – who had advanced on the bases – for Gilroy’s last run.
The Mustangs are optimistic about getting an at-large bid to CCS in the Division I bracket. Notre Dame (Division IV) and San Benito (Division I) received the two TCAL automatic bids for finishing first and second in league. Gilroy is not betting on getting a first-round playoff game at home, however.
“It was really hard to look at the field and know I’m not going to have another game on it,” Villar said. “(In CCS), we’ll probably end up playing a team we haven’t faced and I think that’s best.”
