Host San Benito built a 10-1 lead after five innings, and held on from there for the 11-6 win over Mountain View on Monday.
Amanda Moisa pitched five strong innings to open the game for the Balers, allowing just three hits and one run while striking out three. San Benito jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, when a two-out error allowed Dominique Monteon to cross the plate, but the offense was quiet for the next couple innings, and the Balers led by the same score entering the bottom of the fourth inning. That was when the bats got warmed up.
A walk to Rylee Roberson opened the inning, and Sara Christensen placed runners on the corners with her single to right field. Brittnee Rossi then flew out to right, allowing Roberson to score from third. Chloe Cortez drove in Christensen with her double to left for a 3-0 lead.
After Cortez scored on a two-out ground ball to short, Ayla Gabel and Noel Chavarria each came through with run-scoring singles, extending the San Benito lead to 6-0 after four full innings.
Mountain View got one back in the top of the fifth, on a RBI double by Ilona Sullivan, but the Balers put the game away with four more runs in the bottom of the inning, highlighted by a two-run single off the bat of Cortez.
Emma Bice's two-run triple and Rachel Klemm's RBI double highlighted the top of the sixth inning for the Spartans, but the deficit proved to be too much to overcome. Bice finished the game with four RBI to lead the Mountain View attack, while Cortez went 3-for-5 with three RBI for the Balers.
