Starting pitcher Jacob Cabral got all the run support he'd need in the first inning Tuesday as the San Benito 14-year-old All-Stars never looked back en route to a 6-1 victory over Arroyo Grande in the semifinals of the Central California State Championships in Orcutt.
San Benito, which remains undefeated in the double-elimination tournament, will play in the championship round Thursday at Orcutt's Morrison Field against Arroyo Grande, which defeated Central Wednesday, 15-4.
First pitch Thursday is at 2 p.m. If necessary, a second game would be played at 5 p.m.
"The pitching kept us in it, kept us alive," manager Joe Ocampo said of Tuesday's victory. "There were a few errors here and there, but our defense has been great throughout the tournament. Our team is working well together."
Cabral threw five innings Tuesday to earn the win, while reliever Adrian Medina pitched the remaining two innings to close the door on Arroyo Grande.
Following Sunday's come-from-behind victory over Central, in which San Benito plated four runs with two outs in the seventh inning to steal a 5-3 win, Ocampo said his team took the field Tuesday against Arroyo Grande with some added confidence.
"After a game like that, yeah, they did," Ocampo said. "They show up nice and loose and ready to go.
"The boys knew what they had to do. They didn't give up."
As Cabral held Arroyo Grande scoreless until the fifth inning, his teammates provided three runs in the first inning alone.
After Sergio Cosio and Medina were both hit by a pitch to start the home half of the first, Steven Hernandez knocked them in on a two-RBI double. Tanner Carrillo-Zazueta then followed with an RBI single to give San Benito an early 3-0 lead.
The score stayed that way until the fifth when Arroyo Grande plated their lone run of the game. San Benito, though, responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half, as Emmett King and Dustin Rovella each scored on consecutive wild pitches.
San Benito then added another run in the sixth when Medina doubled, stole third, and Cabral connected on a sacrifice fly to make the score 6-1.
"Through this whole tournament, the kids are always loose," Ocampo said. "One picks up the other. That's the way it's been the whole tournament. If one kid pops up, all right, the next kid will pick him up.
"It's easy to coach and manage."
A win in Thursday's championship would qualify San Benito to next week's Pacific Southwest Regional 14-year-old Tournament in Palo Alto, slated to begin Wednesday.
"With the win [on Tuesday]," Ocampo said, "now we have more confidence that we can finish this off."
AG 000 010 0 - 1
SB 300 021 X - 6
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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Best in the bus business, again
