Napa gets strong start from Maher, uses small ball to beat Justin-Siena
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
Baseball can be wild.
That was the case in Napa’s 4-3 win over Justin-Siena on Wednesday.
It was a game that had a little bit of everything like good pitching, timely hitting, and a lot of small ball. But the one thing it came down to was execution.
“Collectively as a team I think we just played our tails off today,” Napa junior Trent Maher said.
“Napa got the last opportunity to execute and that was it,” Justin-Siena coach Jeremy Tayson said of what the difference was in the game. “That was it. They executed one more time the we did. Both teams played really well today. They manufactured one more than we did, simple as that.”
The scoring began in the bottom of the first when Justin-Siena (7-10 overall, 2-6 Vine Valley Athletic League) scores a run. After being hit by a pitch and advancing to second on a wild pitch Luigi Albano-Dito scored on a Dominic Moore single.
Then, in the next half inning the Grizzlies (2-18, 2-7 VVAL) scored their first run of the game. After singling to leadoff the inning, Travis Brayton got to third on a pair of bunts before scoring on a Lucas Brandon groundout.
“It takes time to learn the short game,” Napa coach Jason Chatham said. “Going and hitting a fastball is a physical thing, but the short game is also a mental thing. So, I think it’s taken a lot of time. We ran a bunt-and-run, we had like three hit-and-runs, we had a steal attempt, we had a double steal attempt, and I think three slashes. We had a lot of good things going on, a lot of things cooking, and some things that may have not even been noticed there, but I thought we did a really good job. We were aggressive.”
“It’s comforting as a pitcher having a little bit of pressure off when your offense comes up big,” Maher explained.
In the bottom of the fourth Justin-Siena scored a run to take the lead. After walking and stealing second John Horn scored on a Maxx Castellucci suicide squeeze bunt.
Napa took the lead in the top of the fifth when they scored twice. After singling Calvin Snider later scored when Dylan Foster drew a bases-loaded walk. Omar Gonzalez reached by way of a fielder’s choice and later scored on a Brayton sacrifice fly.
The Braves tied the game up in the bottom half when Noah Young walked and later scored on an Albano-Dito double.
The Grizzlies scored the game-winning run in the seventh when Maher singled and later came into score on a Dylan Snider fielder’s choice.
Both starters ended up getting no decisions.
Maher started for Napa and went four innings. He walked three and struck out one, while allowing three runs to score.
“I just tried to stay in my legs,” Maher explained. “That sorta located my pitches. I tried to stay away from shot putting the ball, and just let it flow.”
Nolan Dunkle started for Justin-Siena. He went 5 and ⅓ innings, struck out six, and walked three. He also allowed three runs on the day.
Up next for Napa is the second Big Game of the season, this time at Napa High. In the first Big Game on April 3rd Napa beat Vintage 4-1. As for Justin-Siena, they’ll be on bye on Friday, but they’ll host Armijo-Fairfield on Saturday morning at 11 a.m.
