The San Benito Lady Balers had a simple formula for scoring runs early in the game this past season.
Leadoff hitter JC Clayton would single on, steal second base and then steal third base. She'd then score following a pass ball or a wild pitch, or score on a fielder's choice, or score after a teammate knocked her home with a hit.
Clayton was a threat all season, and she was recently named the Tri-County Athletic League's Most Valuable Player as a result.
As a senior second baseman, Clayton batted a staggering .651 (28 of 43) in 12 regular season games and stole 29 stolen bases - an average of 2.3 hits and 2.41 stolen bases for each regular season game.
With a perfect fielding percentage defensively (1.000) to boot, Clayton didn't strike out once during TCAL play, and had just two strikeouts all season.
"That's pretty crazy," San Benito manager Scott Smith said, whose Lady Balers went 10-2 in the TCAL and finished runner-up to Notre Dame (11-1) this past season.
Clayton's crazy numbers as a senior are only scratching the surface, however. Attending BYU in the fall, Clayton finished her four-year career at San Benito High School with a batting average of .523. She also stole a total of 137 bases.
"There's not many kids batting .500 in one year, let alone all four years added up," Smith said.
Clayton's MVP status places her on the all-TCAL first team as well, where she is joined by senior starting pitcher Marisa Ibarra, sophomore shortstop Jessica Vest and sophomore outfielder Mari Vallejo.
Notre Dame hurler Kylie Linnane was named the TCAL's Most Valuable Pitcher after compiling an 8-1 record and a 0.35 earned run average. Ibarra, meanwhile, finished the regular season with a 10-2 record and a 0.48 ERA.
She was also named to the Pursuing Victory with Honor sportsmanship team.
Ibarra's four-year career is filled with crazy numbers of her own, though. The SF State-bound pitcher compiled a 108-11 overall record at SBHS - fourth all-time in California state history - and helped lead the Lady Balers to four straight Central Coast Section Division I titles.
In fact, Clayton, Ibarra and fellow senior Bre Fata, who was named second team all-TCAL, won the Division I championship each year at SBHS and followed through with a phrase Smith tells his team each season: "Don't lose your last game."
"They took it to heart," Smith added. "They never lost their last game in four years.
"Pretty amazing. Pretty amazing."
Joining Fata on the second team was sophomore first baseman Jessica Steigelman and freshman catcher Marissa Adame, while freshman outfielder Taylor Powell was given honorable mention.
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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The Score: Baler football and boys and girls water polo
