Vintage takes league-opener against Justin-Siena behind hot offense, Morse’s solid start
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
It was the battle of Trower Avenue to begin Vine Valley Athletic League play.
However, in the teams first meeting since 2016 Vintage prevailed by a score of 9-0.
Vintage coach Robert Poppe was happy to see his team play as a cohesive unit on the day.
“Actually, we played well today as a unit,” he said. “Pitching was solid. We communicated well, and our bats were hot.”
From the start it was obvious that Vintage was the better team.
In the bottom of the first the Crushers (4-0, 1-0 VVAL) pushed across a run. Shelby Morse singled and her courtesy runner, Simone Sullivan came home on a Sierra Crocker double.
They were able to add three more runs in the bottom of second to further expand their lead. Camila Barboza doubled before scoring on a pair of wild pitches. Then, Hailey Schreiner singled before scoring on Jordan Allen’s bunt single, error filled round tripper.
The Crushers added yet another run in the third when Sarah Husted layed down a bunt and scored on yet another error filled play.
In the fourth Vintage then pushed across two more runs. Ally Warren singled, then Schreiner doubled before both of the came home on a Taylor Brandt double.
Vintage scored their final runs of the day in the fifth. After walking Sierra Crocker’s courtesy runner Jewel Kenny came home when Groves yanked a two-run home run over the left field fence.
“It felt really good,” Groves explained of her two-run blast. “It really boosted my confidence because the time before I struck out, so it was good, and I tried to stay positive, and my team really helped me out to stay positive.”
The Braves (7-2, 0-1 VVAL), however, had their best chance to push across a run in the seventh when Izzy Poulsen and Victoria Politz had back-to-back singles.
“That last sequence there a couple of my kids got on against their second pitcher and they put the ball in play,” Justin-Siena coach Tim Garcia said of the fight his team showed late in the game.
Morse got the win for the Crushers. Over five innings she struck out nine, walked one, all while allowing only one hit.
“My coach was just calling the right pitches I guess for the batters, and my spin was working good,” Morse said. “(Catcher) Sierra (Crocker) was back there framing the heck out of the ball, and I knew that the defense had my back even if I missed a spot.”
“She’s a freshman that’s got a bright future ahead of her,” Garcia explained of Morse’s game.
Clare Garcia took the loss for Justin-Siena. Over three innings she walked two and struck out one.
Vintage will be back in action on Saturday at 1 p.m. when they face Ukiah at Maria Carrillo High School in Santa Rosa. Justin-Siena will be back in action on Monday at 4 p.m. when they visit Hercules.
