By Staff
After ending their seasons and coming out strong in the playoffs, Benicia’s baseball and softball teams both advanced to the semifinals.
Concluding their season with a record of 16–8, the Panther’s baseball team, ranked fourth in NCS Division Two, competed in the first round of playoffs where they faced Washington High School (13) at home. Washington came out hot, scoring 3 runs and holding a 3-run lead in the bottom of the fourth. Benicia then pushed across a single run and the score stood 4–1, Washington, in the bottom of the fifth. In the top of the sixth, the Panthers held their opponents to 4 runs and were able to grab 5 more runs thanks to a home run by sophomore Colton Richardson and several base hits. Benicia came out with the 6–4 victory over Washington and proceeded to the second round of playoffs where they faced Vintage High School (5) again at home.
The Panthers were able to secure an early lead in the first inning scoring a single run, but Vintage answered back and gained the 2–1 lead in the top of the second. Benicia’s bats were hot though, and the Panthers were able to score another 3 runs during their next at bats and took back the lead as the score stood 4–3 Bencia. The rest of the game was scoreless as Benicia clinched their second victory in playoffs, as they then advanced to the semifinals where they faced Cardinal Newman (1) in Santa Rosa. Newman came out ready to fight and in the first four innings, the Cardinals were able to push across 7 runs. The Panthers fought to hold them to only 7 but were only able to score 1 run in the sixth. The game ended in a 7–1 loss for the Panthers and Benicia was eliminated.
Senior Wyatt Miyamoto says, “One positive I took away from this season was that our unison in determination to achieve our goal of winning a league and section title, despite our failure to do so, served as an important model for next years team to continue with that objective.” Junior Dominic Louro also explained how this season taught him the importance of rooting for your teammates and being happy for other people’s success. He says, “The second you root for someone else’s success is when everything becomes successful.” Although their season ended earlier than they would have hoped, the Panthers had a great season with a final overall record of 18–9 and will come out even stronger next season!
Benicia baseball isn’t the only team who tasted success for the Panthers this year, as BHS’s softball team also advanced to the semifinals. After closing their season with a remarkable record of 21–1, the Lady Panthers were ranked third in the North Coast Section for Division Two. They competed in the first round of playoffs where they scored 17 runs against Newark Memorial high school who was the fourteenth seed and the game ended in the fifth inning due to the run rule, where Benicia gained their first victory in playoffs with a final score of 17–1.
They then advanced to the second round where they faced American Canyon who held an impressive record of 17-6 and were ranked sixth in NCS. The two teams fought competitively for the first two innings until Benicia was able to push across a total of 7 runs in the third inning. The Panthers then held their opponents until the fifth inning where they were able to score the last 3 runs they needed to win the game by run-ruling their opponents for the second time so far in playoffs.
Benicia then advanced to the semifinals where they faced the two seed, Livermore High School. In the first two innings, Livermore found a way to score 2 runs against the Panthers, who then answered back by scoring 1 run in the third, and 2 runs in the fifth thanks to a home run by junior Ava Rojas. Benicia led 3–2 when Livermore had several base hits and a home run that took the final score to 6–3 Livermore. While the Panthers did not bring home a section championship win, there are countless positives to take away from the season.
This year’s Benicia softball team had a close-to-record-breaking overall record of 23–2 and were also awarded an NCS Scholastic award for excellence in academics with a combined team GPA of 3.74. Junior Emma French says, “One positive that I took away is that we all learned what it really meant to become a team, playing our roles, being there for eachother, etc.” French also explained, “Going into my senior year I want the team to focus on not letting the moment get too big and playing every game with intent.” Senior Kyra Mason also explains that she is proud of the team for being able to create a team environment where everyone was able to find a “team-first” mentality. She says, “I was able to put all of my trust in my teammates and trust that they had my back and I had theirs,” and, “This season we definitely did everything for each other instead of for ourselves.”
The Panther’s baseball and softball teams both had excellent seasons this year so stay tuned for next season and follow them as they fight for the title of Section and State Champions!
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