Morse’s walk-off three-run home run lifts Vintage past Napa in second Big Game
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
In sports, there are some games that bring out the best in teams.
Big Game is one of those games. It was the case in the second Big Game softball of the season when Vintage beat Napa 3-0.
The game was a pitcher’s duel the whole way.
However, in the bottom of the seventh the game ended in epic fashion when Shelby Morse ripped a three-run homer over the fence in left-center to lift her team to victory. The rally was set up by a Raimy Gamsby single and a walk by Bianca Avalos. The homer was her second of the season.
“Honestly, I was going up there thinking I needed to get a base hit,” Morse said of her game-winning at-bat. “I was going up there thinking like ‘we just need to get Raimy to third, get her in somehow.’ I was actually thinking about how I didn’t really warm up. It had been a hot minute since I swung.”
Both teams had many opportunities to score in this one, but couldn’t break the seal. Napa (2-9 overall, 2-7 Vine Valley Athletic League) left a total of eight runners on base throughout the day.
“We were looking at pitches we shouldn’t be looking at,” Napa manager Ron Walston explained of the missed chances. “The strike zone was heavy to the inside and they knew it. They saw it early and just didn’t adjust. We’ve just got to take better advantage of opportunities. I mean, that’s kind of where we’ve been all year.”
The Grizzlies also had six opportunities with a runner in scoring position.
“I was noticing that Raimy and I were really trying to jam them a little bit,” Morse said as to what helped the Crushers wiggle out of jams. “We didn’t really want them to hit anything square. I think they had a few square hits off of us, like maybe two or three. I can’t really recall. But I know that when runners are on, we really want to try to jam them because they’re swinging, you’re going up there aggressive with runners on. But I think we were trying to attack and make sure that we didn’t leave anything hanging and I just don’t think that we did.”
The Crushers (9-1, 8-1 VVAL) also had their opportunities. However, they only left two runners on the whole game.
“Some of it’s coaching,” Vintage manager Robert Poppe admitted. “I was trying to not do small ball because we have a lot of bats. So I do like to hit the ball. Unfortunately, (in) the first two innings we hit right to mitts, so credit to Napa high.”
Vintage had dominant pitching on the afternoon. Starting and getting a no-decision was Gamsby. In five innings of work, she struck out nine and walked two. She also threw 81 pitches.
Getting the win was Morse. In just two innings, she struck out two and walked two. She also threw 29 pitches.
Despite pitching marvelously, Karen Sepulveda took the loss. In six-plus innings, she allowed just three runs. The senior struck out one and walked one as well.
“She hit her spots,” Walston said of his senior pitcher’s day in the circle. “ I don’t think she walked anybody. (It) came down to one swing of the bat. Other than that, she pitched an outstanding game. Shelby is a good hitter. You’ve got to pitch around her. She kind of let one get out over the plate and just took advantage of it.”
Both teams will continue the league schedule next Tuesday at 4 pm. Vintage will head to Petaluma for a meeting with Casa Grande. Meanwhile, Napa will have their final home game when they host Justin-Siena.
In the day’s only other league game, American Canyon beat Petaluma 18-1.
