Andrews complete game shutout leads Justin-Siena past Napa
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
When a pitcher is so dominant, it makes winning games easy.
That was the case Friday afternoon when the Justin-Siena baseball team beat Napa 3-0.
Pitching a complete game shutout was junior right-hander Nick Andrews. He started off with a perfect game and no-hitter that lasted four innings. The junior also struck out seven and had no walks in just 77 pitches. He also allowed just three hits on the day.
“So what was working for me was my fastball and my curveball today,” Andrews said of his marvelous effort on the bump. “I have to give gratitude to my catcher Robby Sangiacomo. He calls all my pitches.”
Andrews has now thrown back-to-back complete-game shutouts. It’s also Justin-Siena’s third complete-game shutout in their last four games.
“I saw what Nick Andrews has done since he’s a freshman,” Justin-Siena manager Jeremy Tayson explained. “He toes the rubber, he throws strikes, and even in that last inning, things were getting a little funky with everyone else. Not with him.”
The Braves (7-5 overall, 4-4 Vine Valley Athletic League) jumped out to an early two-run lead in the first to help Andrews settle in. Andrews walked and advanced to third on a double by Dalen Tinsley. Andrews came in on a sacrifice fly to center by Noah Young, which also advanced Tinsley to third. A Keith Binz sacrifice fly to left field brought in Tinsley.
“I think it was very important. Like, we took the momentum in this game in the first inning,” Andrews said of the early rally. “With the walk and then Dalen’s double, I think it just created momentum for the game and it pushed us all the way through to the seventh.”
“I mean, you put a crooked number on the board it doesn’t matter how you do it,” Tayson said of the early two-run lead. “It was nice to see the middle of our order produce in that fashion as they have done all year.”
Justin-Siena also added one more run in the fourth when Robby Sangiacomo and Bryce Laukert singled. On a pickoff play to first base, Elliot Zuidema overthrew Kaleb Matulich, which allowed Sangiacomo to score from second.
Sangiacomo led the offensive attack for the Braves. He was 2-for-3 with a double, run scored, and a stolen base.
“Robby is a guy who’s really settling in and starting to learn himself and how to channel the mental game of hitting and today was a good indicator of that success,” Tayson said of his junior catcher. “Robby is so competitive. He really is a good pusher of our team.”
Napa (3-8 overall, 1-7 VVAL) had their chances to score. In the bottom of the seventh, they loaded the bases with two outs and didn’t score. They also had runners on first and second with one out in the fifth.
“When we’re down by a couple runs, we tend to load the bags in the last inning,” Napa manager Jason Chatham explained.
Pitching well for the Grizzlies and taking the loss was Elliot Zuidema. He worked six innings on 88 pitches. The junior also struck out eight and walked one on the day. Trace Willoughby pitched an inning and threw 16 pitches.
“He did well. I think he had eight Ks,” Chatham said of Zuidema. “He did a great job of controlling sample and mixing speeds.”
Both teams will have a non-league game on Monday before returning to VVAL play on Wednesday at 4. Justin-Siena will host St.Patrick-St.Vincent on Monday at 4:30 pm and then host league-leading Casa Grande-Petaluma on Wednesday. Napa will visit Rohnert Park on Monday for a meeting with Rancho Cotate before they visit crosstown rival Vintage in the second Big Game on Wednesday.
In the team’s last meetings in league play, Justin-Siena lost to Casa Grande 5-0. Napa lost to Vintage 9-1 on April 30th.
There was just one other VVAL baseball game on Friday. Casa Grande beat Petaluma 8-6.
