Bartlett’s big day at plate leads Napa past Justin-Siena and to series split for second straight season
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
In order to score runs, having a lead-off hitter that makes contact and puts pressure on the defense helps. After all, your leadoff batter should be a table setter for your boppers.
On Tuesday afternoon at Braves Field, the top of the order set the table throughout the day as Napa beat Justin-Siena, 5-4, in a Vine Valley Athletic League contest.
Napa (5-8, 3-4 VVAL) began the game with a pair of runs in the first inning. It all started when Mason Bartlett was hit by a pitch and then advanced to third on back-to-back singles by Cameron Taylor and Graham Chapouris. Bartlett came in on a bases-loaded walk by Nigel Clay. Cameron Taylor later scored on a wild pitch.
“I think they did a good job of taking what was given to them, and then capitalizing on that,” Napa manager Jason Chatham said as to how his team put two runs on the board right away. “I think that’s the key. You can’t get in your own way. We were given a little bit. You’ve got to take that. I think we had a couple of hits in that inning, but we were given a little bit too and then you have to capitalize. We did a little bit of both of that. We wanted to come out fairly aggressive on the bases. We did get thrown out a couple of times, their catcher has a good arm. But we did put a lot of pressure on (the) defense as well. You know, I thought we use a lot of our offense today and it was really a complete effort from the team.”
The Grizzlies scored another run in the second which tied the game up at 3 when Cam Aldous walked and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Carson Goodrich, and then went to third on a Bartlett single before scoring on a sacrifice fly to center field by Cameron Taylor.
In the fourth, Napa took their second lead of the game when Collin Taylor ripped a double into the right-center gap and then advanced on a wild pitch, and then scored when Bartlett reached on an infield single that was over the head of the pitcher but dropped in front of the second baseman.
“I was just trying to get to first,” Bartlett recalled of his hit in the fourth that broke a tie and moved the momentum to his team’s dugout. “I wasn’t trying to worry about the hit. I was just trying to make sure that the runner from third would get home.”
Finally, the Grizzlies scored once more in the fifth to go up 5-3 when Noah Massey singled, stole second, got to third on a wild pitch, and then scored on another wild pitch.
In the game, the Napa offensive attack was led by Bartlett. The sophomore went 3-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI.
“Just make contact first,” Bartlett said as to what his approach is at the plate that led him to the nice day. “First pitch I’ve been taught is always fastball, just been my goal everytime.”
All season long Bartlett has been the catalyst that Napa has needed to set to the table. He has the ability to play small ball and has some power, can swipe a bag if needed, and plays good defense at second base.
“He has incredible hand-eye coordination Mason Bartlett does and he just puts (the) bat on (the) ball,” Chatham explained. “He can run he can short game, if we want him to bunt, he can do it. He can drive a ball. I’m really proud of his growth and his maturity. He’s a sophomore and he really has stepped it up and he’s become just a really critical part of this team. He’s really the perfect leadoff hitter. I mean, we like what he does and he’s got incredible range at second base. He’s done a heck of a job for us this season.”
Others helping the offensive cause for the Grizzlies were Cameron Taylor (2-for-3 run, RBI), Chapouris (2-for-4), Collin Taylor (1-for-3 double, run, RBI), and Massey (1-for-4).
Justin-Siena (10-5, 4-3 VVAL) took their only lead when they fought back with a trio of runs in the first. Trevor L’Esperence started the rally by roping a double down the left-field line and stealing third before coming home on a single by Everet Johnson. Aidan Phinney walked and got to second on the Johnson single and then came in on a single by Luke Giusto. Johnson got to second on the Giusto single and then to third on a fielder’s choice before scoring on a Sam Denkin single that dropped in the Bermuda triangle in right field.
“So to do that and respond shows a little bit of resiliency,” Justin-Siena skipper Jeremy Tayson said of the three-run first inning for his squad. “We’ve been talking this week about how to deal with adversity and to answer right back. So for our guys to do that in that moment was a nice indicator of positive growth within our team.”
The Braves were able to make the game interesting in the bottom of the seventh when Braeden Butler walked and stole second before getting to third on a sacrifice bunt by Phinney and then scoring on a sacrifice fly to left field by Giusto.
Justin-Siena had their chance to win the game following the sacrifice fly when L’Esperence, Johnson, and Jake Fletcher all walked. But they were unable to take advantage of the opportunity.
Leading the Braves offensive attack in the game was Denkin (2-for-3 RBI), Giusto (1-for-2 walk, 2 RBIs), Johnson (1-for-3 run, RBI), L’Esperence (1-for-3 double, run), and Phinney (1-for-3).
Getting the win on the bump for Napa in the game was Chapouris. The senior right-handed pitcher struck out 5 and walked 3 in 6 innings of work. He also allowed 3 earned runs on 6 hits while throwing 100 pitches on the way to getting his second winning decision of the season.
“So Graham’s been sick for a little while and that’s something we haven’t talked about,” Chatham said of Chapouris. “He’s coming out of it and his energy level isn’t at 100%. First of all, I wanted to commend him for just having the energy and battling for us. You know, the thing about Graham as a pitcher is that he usually has one inning where he struggles and you have to weather. There’s a roller coaster effect, there’s going to be some bumps and there was about 10 times where I was about a pitch away from pulling him and then he just does something to stay in the game and then he kept doing that something to stay in the game up until we got into the seventh inning.”
Cameron Taylor worked the final inning and earned the save, which was his first of the season. The senior righty walked 4 and struck out 1 and gave up an earned run while throwing 31 pitches.
Taking the loss on the hill for Justin-Siena was Giusto. The junior worked 6 ⅓ innings of relief striking out 4 with no walks. He also gave up 5 hits and threw 72 pitches while allowing 3 runs to score, with 2 of them being earned.
“Luke continues to get better and better every time out,” Tayson said of the junior righty. “And we were talking in the dugout amongst the coaches that these games that he gets into where they’re intense really good for his development as we’re looking at things pushing the rest of the remainder of the regular season and going into the postseason. Good opportunity for me to just get better. (He) rose to the occasion absolutely rose to the occasion.”
Both teams will continue VVAL play on Thursday afternoon with 4 pm games. Napa will return home to Mount Field where they’ll host Vintage. Meanwhile, Justin-Siena will hit the road to Petaluma and face Casa Grande.
In the first Big Game on April 1st, Napa beat Vintage 3-2. When Justin-Siena hosted Casa Grande on March 27th, the Gauchos beat them 4-1.
Other VVAL games on Tuesday afternoon saw Casa Grande beat Petaluma 1-0 and American Canyon beat Sonoma Valley 13-3 in six innings. You can view the updated league standings here.
Napa and Justin-Siena continue an odd but thrilling series
For some rhyme or reason, the Grizzlies have a knack for beating their local rivals on the road. Tuesday’s victory means they have won 3 of the 4 games played at Justin-Siena since the VVAL started in 2019.
“There’s something really weird here,” Chatham said of the success his program has had winning on the road against local rivals. “It’s like the road team has been winning. We’re hoping to make sure on Thursday that we break and we hope the home team can get one on Thursday. But that hasn’t been the case. We’ve split with these guys, we’ve got one against Vintage and that seems to be you know, just the MO and they’re always it seems like they’re always 5-4 games. It’s just, it’s really, really bizarre. I don’t have an understanding of it.”
On the flip side, Justin-Siena has never lost a VVAL game at Mount Field. This means these teams have been great at not only splitting the season series but doing so by winning on the road.
If this streak sounds familiar, it’s because it is. They haven’t just done this to Justin-Siena. They have also won 3 of the 4 VVAL games played on the road against Vintage. Baseball is weird.
