Surprisingly, despite winning the last two Central Coast Section Division I titles, the San Benito Lady 'Balers have never been awarded the No. 1 seed.
Until now.
San Benito wrapped up their second straight Tri-County Athletic League title with a perfect 12-0 record and will enter this week's CCS softball playoffs as the top-seeded team.
San Benito (25-4) will receive a first-round bye, and will play the winner of No. 8 Oak Grove (20-5) and No. 9 Evergreen Valley (17-9-2) on Saturday at the Salinas Sports Complex.
Not only did the Lady 'Balers receive the top honor, TCAL rivals Salinas and Gilroy are somewhat distant to San Benito on the CCS bracket, a fact manager Scott Smith was hoping for.
Although No. 12 Salinas (13-12-1) is technically on San Benito's side of the bracket, a date with the Cowboys would only come until the semifinal round. And No. 6 Gilroy (19-8), which tested San Benito recently when they took a 2-1 lead to the bottom of the seventh only to see the Lady 'Balers plate two in the final frame, is on the opposite side of the Division I bracket, meaning the two teams could only meet up in the championship game.
"It's as good as we could have hoped for," said Smith, who did not want to continue playing the same league teams over and over. "The fact that we wouldn't have to meet (Salinas) until the semifinals is good.
"But the only team that's gonna be us is ourselves."
With San Benito's last league game on Thursday, Saturday's date with either Oak Grove or Evergreen Valley - two teams the Lady 'Balers have not played this season - will supply San Benito with more than a week off in between contests.
Heading into the postseason, a week off is not usually something teams covet.
But San Benito's 9-5 victory over North Salinas last Thursday saw the host Vikings score five times in the bottom of the seventh, and Smith feels his squad was a little complacent in their final game.
With a strong week of practice, Smith wants to take advantage of the first-round bye and bring the intensity back.
"I think it's a good thing," Smith said of the first-round bye. "With the week off, the kids will be hungry to play. I think we'll be fine with it."
The manager is already planning five days of practice and maybe even a scrimmage against Notre Dame or Stevenson, which earned the No. 1 and the No. 3 seed in the Division III playoffs, respectively.
In Division I, No. 2 Monta Vista (26-3) and No. 3 Homestead (22-5) each earned first-round byes as well.
Smith has seen Evergreen Valley and Oak Grove play, and he said they're both solid softball teams that hit well and play strong defense.
"We match up well with either team. But it's the playoffs. We can't have a bad day," Smith said. "If we play good defense and pitch well, we have a pretty good chance to beat them."
Saturday's game against either Evergreen Valley or Oak Grove will be held at Field No. 3 of the Salinas Sports Complex. First pitch is at 10:30 a.m.
Andrew Matheson Andrew Matheson is a sports writer for South Valley Newspapers. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 334 or at amatheson@svnewspapers.com.
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Burned by the Queen
