San Benito beat the odds and took advantage of a rare Saint Francis defensive lapse to rally from a 3-1 deficit for a 6-4 victory over the Lancers Wednesday afternoon in a CCS Division I semifinal matchup at San Jose Municipal Stadium. The win catapults the Haybalers (24-6) to the CCS title game for the second year in a row.
“Last year, we didn’t get challenged as much in the CCS playoffs," said San Benito catcher Jacob Tonascia. "We smashed on Santa Teresa, we had a good game against Wilcox, and we beat up on Salinas to get there."
The Balers will take on Valley Christian (24-8), a 4-2 winner over Palo Alto in extra innings Wednesday night at San Jose Municipal.
The Haybalers defied the odds by taking down two WCAL powerhouses in consecutive CCS playoff games, an impressive feat especially when considering that the Balers have given up just four runs total in their three CCS playoff games, all in this game.
“This year, we’ve been challenged every game," said Tonascia. "We got stuck with two West Catholic teams, and that’s really tough to do. I think everyone just played really well to squeeze out those wins.”
The turning point of the game came when the Haybalers were down 3-1 after four innings. They rallied for two runs to tie the game at 3-3 in the top of the fifth. With one out, sophomores Daniel Gonzales and Josh George hit back-to-back singles to start the rally. After Michael Breen grounded out for the second out of the inning, catcher Jacob Tonascia hit a flyball to right field that was misplayed for a two-run error, bringing in the tying runs.
“The main thing was, late in the game, it all started with Danny Gonzalez," said Tonascia. "He had a really long at bat, it was probably eight or 10 pitches, and that really set the tone. We wanted to get deeper in counts and make him work harder, and then he finally got a single through the middle and that’s when the game kind of changed."
Saint Francis head coach Mike Oakland recounted the significance of that quick turn of events.
“When we were up 3-1, I thought we had the momentum," said Oakland, "and then we dropped a flyball that let them back in the game, and that pretty much did us in."
Neither team would score again until the seventh, when San Benito struck for three runs to take a 6-3 lead. With two outs, Breen lined a single into center field and moved to second on a wild pitch. Tonascia followed with an RBI single to give the Haybalers their first lead of the night.
"He started me off every at bat with a curveball, so I was looking for a curveball first pitch, and I got it and just missed it," Tonascia recalled. "He threw me another curve ball, swung through it, and then he bounced one, and I was expecting a fastball on that pitch - I just didn’t want to chase. And then when I saw the curveball hung, I just flicked it and got lucky.”
The next batter, Ryan Jacob, then launched an RBI triple to make it 5-3. The left fielder fumbled with the ball on the warning track before finally gaining control of it and throwing it back in, likely allowing Jacob to advance to third base for a triple. Senior Jose Guzman capped the rally with an RBI single to extend the lead to 6-3 heading into the bottom of the seventh.
“Against SF, you’re not going to get pitches because they’re such a good team. They played really solid defense, so as soon as you get a good pitch you have to capitalize on it," said Tonascia. "That’s what I did. Early in the counts I was looking for a pitch to hit, and I got them."
Oakland had an explanation for the disappointing seventh inning.
“I think it’s one of those things, where it’s like you look at the score board, 3-3, we have the same amount of hits but we have three errors and they have one," said Oakland. "What that does is it lets more hitters for them come up, and eventually if they roll the lineup over enough times, they’re going to get you. I think inevitably, the defense caught up to us at the end, and we couldn’t overcome it.”
The Lancers did not go down without a fight, however, as Andrew Eggers hit a one-out single, followed by a double by left fielder Kort Peterson to set Saint Francis up with runners on second and third. Third baseman Michael Strem brought home a run with a single, but then San Benito turned a game-ending double play as San Benito pitcher Skyler Fuss notched the victory in relief.
The Lancers have been known to have strong sixth and seventh innings this season, walking off multiple times. The Haybalers still managed to keep there cool.
“It was just business as usual. Just throwing strikes, and play some defense. Even the hits they got, we were in a no-doubles defense," said San Benito head coach Billy Aviles. "They hit some kind of chinkers, and we had a controversial call there on the left field line. But the kids didn’t get nervous, we kept the focus. Skyler was throwing strikes. It’s not like they were hitting seeds off of him. He was just battling in the strike zone."
Tonascia felt that his team had to be a bit more conservative in the bottom of the seventh because they recognized the potency of the Lancer offense and its ability to ignite at any time.
“We knew we had to settle down. The outfielders couldn’t dive for any balls, and me defensively I couldn’t take any risks," he said. "I had to keep everything in front of me just to keep them off of second and third base, and keep them out of scoring position. So we had to play a little bit more conservatively, but it ended up paying off.”
The plate approach for the Balers was simple - try to get deep into the count.
“We’ve been really focusing on grinding out at bats, getting deep in counts, and as he was starting to get tired, the kids put great swings on it," said Aviles. "That was all in two outs, so it was great clutch hitting."
The Balers were excellent on the mound as well. Senior pitcher Anthony Ocampo pitched four innings and gave up four hits and three runs. At one point, he retired an impressive 10 batters in a row. From there, Fuss, a senior, took over reigns and blanked the Lancers, a team that usually generates a lot of its runs late in games.
“Anthony did really well. He was finding his changeup really well - that second time through their lineup, we got [Braden] Bishop on two really nice changeups, and that kind of set the tone from there," said Tonascia. "And then Skyler hit through some a little bit harder than he usually does but he spotted it really well, and that helped us out a lot."
Saint Francis pitcher Ryan Degregorio pitched a solid game despite giving up the six runs, but the team ultimately beat themselves with costly errors. The Lancers ended with four official errors, which together directly resulted in the first three runs. Defense was also sloppy in that pivotal seventh inning.
“We didn’t play our best defensive game. I think, inevitably, that’s what cost us the ballgame," said Oakland. "Not being able to play catch. I thought we had a good approach at the plate, I though Degregorio pitched much better than he deserved, but bottom line, I don’t think we played a good defensive game."
The Lancers generated a decent amount of offense, and were threatening from the start. Bishop, a senior all-WCAL performer, led off the game with a base hit, and he was eventually batted in by junior Michael Strem. The Lancers looked like the Lancers of the regular season, poised for a playoff victory.
“They came out and had a really good pregame, and they were looking really good when they came out and scored that run in the first inning,” said Tonascia.
But his team never feared, and never gave up against the WCAL giant.
“I just didn’t want everyone to get doubts about the game. We played as hard as we could, nonetheless," said Tonascia. "It doesn’t matter who we’re playing, and instead of getting fear we got a little bit of hope to come out and beat them.”
This win was special for San Benito, as Saint Francis came in nationally ranked and a strong favorite to win CCS.
“Beating the 10th ranked team in the state means a lot," said Tonascia. "We don’t really get ranked as high as I think we should be because we’re way out in Timbuktu, but coming up here and playing good baseball against these guys and showing what we can do, that’s priceless."
The Lancers will have to head back home and hang up their cleats after an impressive season in which they far surpassed pre-season expectations.
“Without question, I think the expectations going into the season were not as high as they were last year. I think this group competed harder than the group I had last year, they played together as a team better than the group I had last year," said Oakland. "They didn’t have as much talent, but I think they made the most out of everything that they had.But when you get this close to it and don’t finish it off, it’s disappointing."
Coach Aviles said that the Balers cannot do one thing in particular if they want to win the championship: “We just need to not give runs away. As long as we don’t give runs away, we’re going to have a chance to win.”
The championship game will take place Saturday night (7 pm) at San Jose Municipal Stadium.
