Key hits by Fletcher, Johnson lead Justin-Siena to massive sixth inning rally and comeback win over American Canyon in instant classic
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
The game is truly never out until that last out is recorded. You can be dead in the water and then put up a crooked number like it’s nothing.
On Friday afternoon at Braves Diamond, Justin-Siena had to come from behind to beat American Canyon, 7-6, in yet another Vine Valley Athletic League thriller.
The Braves (6-3 overall, 2-1 VVAL) entered the sixth down four runs and looked like the game would end in a rather quiet fashion. After scoring three runs to get within one, Everet Johnson came up and scorched a double to right-center that brought in Dalen Tinsley and Trevor L’Esperence. Tinsley had reached on an error and L’Esperence by way of a single.
“I wasn’t really thinking much. I was thinking ‘see (the) ball, hit (the) ball,’” Johnson said of his key at-bat in the bottom of the sixth. “It’s something I’ve been always going about after I struggled a little bit last year, I need to see the ball and hit (the) ball and I think too much. Just go in with an open mind, nothing in it and just see the ball and hit the ball and do some damage.”
Before that, Justin-Siena was in desperate need of a spark to get the offense going. That spark came by way of Jake Fletcher who roped a solo home run to left-center to bring some momentum back to the hosts. The homer was Fletcher’s second of the campaign.
“Jake’s a guy who’s handled a lot on his plate,” Justin-Siena manager Jeremy Tayson said of Fletcher’s importance to the team. “He’s a varsity catcher last year splitting time with Robbie (Sangiacomo Class of 2022) and he stepped up into what you could say is a bigger role. He’s done it with class and he’s done it with confidence and he’s just really been great.”
The other two runs that inning came when Aidan Phinney was hit by a pitch and advanced to third when Braeden Butler reached on an error before scoring when Tinsley reached on an error. Butler later scored on the L’Esperence single.
“We’ve been spending a lot of time recently in the classroom talking about culture and developing things,” Tayson said as to what led to the big inning. “What I saw was the baseball Gods shined down on our guys a little bit. They never took a pitch off. A lot of funky baseball things were happening and our guys persisted. And the baseball Gods said ‘hey, you know what, I believe in what you guys are doing. So here’s a couple of breaks.’”
In the fourth, the Braves were able to score once. Luke Giusto walked and reached second on a Fletcher single and got to third on a bunt single by Jason Gray that loaded the bases before scoring when Sam Denkin grounded into a double play.
Justin-Siena scored their first run of the game in the third when Denkin walked and advanced to second on a groundout before scoring on a Butler single that was roped over the head and just out of the reach of American Canyon third baseman Tegan Wendt.
“I don’t think we came in with an attack mindset right away,” Johnson explained as to why it took a while for the offense to get the sticks going. “Then we had a talk after one of those innings and were just like ‘we need to bang. See the ball and just demolish it. Just do what we do in practice.’ We always practice always hitting and it just came through.”
Leading the Braves offensive effort in the game was Fletcher (2-for-3 home run, RBI, run scored), Butler (2-for-3 RBI, run), L’Esperence (1-for-2 two walks, run, RBI, stolen base), Johnson (1-for-3 stolen base, double, 2 RBIs), and Tinsley (1-for-4 run).
As for the Wolves (2-7, 1-3 VVAL), they led the game the whole time until the sixth. They scored a run right away in the first when Dylan Brown reached on a fielder’s choice before advancing to second on an infield single by Mason Harris and then scoring on another infield single by Kamari Antoncich. Harris later scored on an error.
Then in the third, American Canyon added two more when Brown doubled to right center and Harris ripped a two-run homer to right center to give them a 4-0 lead. That was the first homer of the year for Harris as well.
In the sixth, the Wolves scored twice more to go up 6-2. Sovann Som was hit by a pitch and stole second before getting to third on a bunt single by Wendt and then scoring on a safety squeeze by Lorenzo Caoile and moving Wendt to third. A Brandon Torres single brought in Wendt.
Getting the win in this game was Cesar Evina. The senior right-hander worked 1 ⅔ scoreless innings on just 18 pitches. He only faced five batters in the game as well.
“He’s a guy that really brings a lot of energy and for him to rise to the occasion in that spot is just a real boost for our program and for our pitching staff,” Tayson said of Evina’s key role in the game where he held the line to allow the comeback to happen.
Starting and getting a no-decision was Johnson. The junior righty worked 5 ⅓ innings walking 3 and striking out 2 on 89 pitches. He also was charged with giving up 6 runs, 5 of which were earned.
Both teams will now have a short turnaround before playing again. Justin-Siena will be playing a makeup game on Saturday at noon when they go to Richmond to face Salesian College Prep. As for American Canyon, they’ll head to the Concord tournament when they face the hosts at 11:30 am.
In other VVAL games Friday, Casa Grande beat Vintage 5-0.
