Justin-Siena’s big fourth inning key in victory over Cloverdale
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsnews
When you score five or more runs in a game, you’re probably going to win.
On Friday the Justin-Siena baseball team did exactly that as they beat Cloverdale 9-2.
Cloverdale (3-3) scored the first two runs of the game in the first and second inning.
“It’s great for us to show a little bit of resilience and toughness,” Justin-Siena coach Jeremy Tayson said of how his team fought back. “We’ve been tested, but we haven’t been tested on the front end of a game. So, it was nice for us to kind of respond in that matter and kind of cruise through the rest of that game.”
The Braves (5-1), however, got a run in the bottom of the second. After walking, Dominic Moore scored when Marcus Nunes stole second.
Justin-Siena pushed three more runs across in the bottom of the third. A Maxx Castellucci double brought home Alex Kirley who singled and Noah Young who walked. Later, James Snoke, a pinch runner scored on a Nunes bases-loaded walk.
“It’s really good because you always have something to rely on because everyone on our team one through nine can swing it for power and contact,” Justin-Siena starter Maxx Castellucci said of having plenty of run support. “So, it’s just good to have that behind you when you’re struggling (and) you just know your offense is going to help you out.”
The Braves pulled away in the bottom of the fourth with a five-run inning. Kirley singled and then scored on Luigi Albano-Dito’s single. Young singled then scored on a Castellucci groundout. A John Horn single brought in Thomas Lopez, Albano-Dito’s pinch runner and Nolan Dunkle who had doubled. Horn later scored on a Nunes single.
“We didn’t change anything,” Tayson explained of the five-run eruption in the fourth. “We’ve got a good approach as a team. We’ve got a really good hitting coach standing right there in Mark Young, and we just kinda trusted that our bats. At some point in the game our bats are going to have a big inning. We can hit.”
Castellucci got the win for Justin-Siena. Over four innings of work he threw 96 pitches, struck out 12 and walked three. He also allowed two runs to score, but only one of them was earned.
It also helped that Castellucci had his breaking ball working well over the four innings he pitched.
“Yeah, I for sure was,” Castellucci said of how good his curveball was working. “It was a better day with the curveball than what I’ve been seeing, but that’s hopefully what’s going to start happening constantly.”
Nick Andrews worked the final three innings of the game. He struck out four.
Justin-Siena will be back in action next Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. when they head to Walnut Creek for a matchup with Las Lomas.
“It’s just another confidence booster and hopefully we beat them again and then just get a good jump into league,” Castellucci said of the importance of the Braves final non-league game before Vine Valley Athletic League play starts next Friday.
“Las Lomas is one of the best teams in division three,” Tayson added. “They’re 5-0 and they’re winning handley in the scorebook. We got them last year at our place on a walkoff, and they’re a good team, and it’s a nice test for su to see where we’re really truly sitting in the division three landscape before we go into league.”
