Justin-Siena fights back to tie game in first, erupt for five runs in third to beat Vintage and gain separation in VVAL standings
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
When you have a good lineup, it feels like a massive inning could happen every time your team is at bat. Just look at some of the super teams in Major League Baseball like the Yankees, Dodgers, Blue Jays, Padres, Braves, Phillies, and Astros. Those lineups make an opposing pitcher squirm days before a start because of their ability t put up runs in a hurry.
On Tuesday afternoon at Braves Diamond, Justin-Siena showed how fast they can put runs up as they beat Vintage, 6-4, in a Vine Valley Athletic League contest. The win gives the Braves a bit of separation in the middle of the VVAL standings as well.
The Braves (9-4, 4-2 VVAL) put up a crooked number in the third, where they scored five times to go up 6-1. It all started when Dalen Tinsley walked and stole second before coming in on Johnson’s double that he pulled down the left field line that gave the Braves the lead. A Jake Fletcher double then brought in Johnson. When Jason Gray reached an error, Fletcher scored from second and Gray was able to get to second on the error. Sam Denkin then reached on an errant throw by Kai Gulliksen that brought in Gray and got Denkin to second. Finally, Henry Meyers doubled and brought in Denkin.
“We were sitting on his (Czekalewski) offspeed,” Justin-Siena junior first baseman/pitcher Luke Giusto said of the approach the Braves had in the third when there broke the game open. “He had a good slider going. “So we were just really making sure we saw that pitch well, and then kind of adjusting to the fastball off of that and I think we pressured him into throwing us more fastballs and hopped on him.”
Before that, Justin-Siena had to rally from an early deficit. The Braves began their half of the first inning by loading the bases on a trio of singles by Trevor L’Esperence, Tinsley, and Giusto. When Jake Fletcher grounded into a fielder’s choice, L’Esperence scored to knot things up at 1.
“Absolutely, it gave us a fresh start,” Justin-Siena head coach and skipper Jeremy Tayson said of the importance of tying the game up in the first. “So I know that Dalen really appreciated the opportunity to have a fresh start thereafter it up and down first inning. And really it started with Trevor L’Esperance. He’s kind of an unspoken guy in our program for the last couple years.”
Leading the Braves batting attack in the game was Tinsley (1-for-2 walk, stolen base, run), Fletcher (1-f0or-2 double, run, 2 RBIs), Johnson (1-for-3 double, run, RBI), Meyers (1-for-3 double, run, RBI), Denkin (1-for-3 run, stolen base), Giusto (1-for-3), and L’Esperence (1-for-4 run).
The Crushers (4-9, 1-4 VVAL) started the contest by scoring a run in the first to take a short-lived lead. Jeffrey Page was hit by a pitch and then John Bullock walked. Page tagged up to third on a Carson Hall flyout before scoring when Noah Piersig ripped a single into left field.
“He’s growing up as a hitter and now he’s more mature and he’s open to more things and he’s he’s adjusted in his swing a little bit, and he did,” Vintage head coach and manager Billy Smith said of the growth Piersig has had on the season. He went right to the five, six-hole. His hand path was right on plane. Se’s working hard as a hitter and a pitcher so we’re gonna start feeding him more action as well coming down the road.”
Vintage scored twice more in the fourth when Carson McCaffrey and Gabe Pacheco began the inning with a pair of singles and both scored when Gulliksen yanked a double into the right-center gap to make it a 6-3 game.
“We’re trying to take some pressure off of him,” Smith said of moving Gulliksen to the nine spot. “Batting first, playing shortstop, trying to fill Dario’s (Freschi) shoes, those are big shoes to fill. So we’ve tried to take it off his plate by moving him down a little bit so he can relax.”
Finally, the Crushers scored once more in the seventh when Bullock doubled and advanced to third on a balk before scoring on a Hall single.
The Crushers were led at the plate by Gulliksen (1-for-2 double, walk, 2 RBIs), McCaffrey (1-for-2), James Burgess (1-for-2), Bullock (1-for-3 double, walk), Piersig (1-for-4 RBI), Hall (1-for-4 RBI), and Ian Fernandez (1-for-4 stolen base).
Getting the win in the game was Tinsley. The senior right-handed pitcher worked 4 innings and allowed just 4 hits on 74 pitches. He also struck out 6 and walked 3 while allowing 3 runs to score, which were all earned on the way to getting his second winning decision of the season.
“Dalen competed today he didn’t quite have his best stuff,” Tayson continued. “But the mark of a good pitcher is competing and getting outs when you’re not sharp. So what I saw from that is a real testament to his growth, like we talked about prior. He keeps drawing tough assignments and for him to really gut it out, that’s the sign of a true pitcher. That’s exactly what a pitcher does.”
Giusto worked the final 3 frames striking out 3 with no walks. He also allowed an earned run to score while notching his first save of the season on just 35 pitches.
“Honestly, just my defense like I got a great defense everywhere,” Giusto said as to how he was able to earn the three-inning save. “Like there’s no holes. So I was just trying to pound the zone throw strikes, let the batters hit it, and trust my defense.”
Taking the loss in the game was Peyten Czekalewski. The senior righty worked all 6 innings in the game striking out 6 and walking just 1. He also allowed 7 hits and gave up all 6 runs, 4 of which were earned. He also threw 87 pitches in the game.
Both teams will be back in action with 4 pm start times on Thursday. Justin-Siena will have the league bye but will host Berean Christian-Walnut Creek. Vintage will return home and face Sonoma Valley. Vintage beat Sonoma Valley 3-0 in a game played on March 24th.
In other VVAL action Tuesday, American Canyon beat Napa 5-4 and Casa Grande beat Sonoma Valley 8-1. You can view the updated league standings here.
