Fortuna scores runs early, leads wire to wire to beat Justin-Siena in a rare end of season non-league contest
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
There are times when you hit the ball hard and it just finds gloves. It’s just not your day when this happens and it’s bound to happen over the course of a season.
In a rare non-league game on Saturday afternoon at Braves Field, it was just Fortuna’s day as they beat Justin-Siena, 8-3.
The Huskies (8-6-1) began the scoring right away as they scored three times to gain a 3-0 lead. Cody Collins walked and then moved to third on a double by Matt Letter. Then they both came in when Cole Ayala yanked a three-run homer to left field.
Fortuna scored once more in the fourth inning to regain a three-run lead. Ayala reached on an infield single and moved to second on a wild pitch. Another infield single by Rogan Gans moved Ayala to third before he scored on a single by Rylan Lommori.
Then, the Huskies added three more in the sixth. Cole Victorine singled and Collins reached on an infield single, which was followed by both moving up a base on a wild pitch. The bases were then loaded after Letter was hit by a pitch. A bases-loaded walk by Ayala brought Victorine in and that was followed by a single by Gans that brought in Collins and Letter.
Lastly, Fortuna added one more in the seventh. Cayden Danbraskas reached on an infield single and then scored when Colt Chamberlin reached on a single and the ball got past the right fielder. However, he was nailed at second on the play.
Justin-Siena (11-8) also scored a run in the first. Trevor L’Esperence reached on an infield single and then came in when Dalen Tinsley ripped a double down the left-field line.
Then, the Braves tacked on another in the fifth when Everet Johnson hit a monster solo homer over the fence in left field. This was his fourth homer of the season for Johnson who verbally committed to UC Davis last week.
Finally, Justin-Siena added another in the sixth when Sam Denkin also hit a homer to left field. It was the first of the year for Denkin as well.
“Sam is having an all-league caliber year,” Justin-Siena head coach and skipper Jeremy Tayson pointed out of Denkin who adds a lot of pop from the bottom of the order. “He’s a guy we really trust. He really has kind of served as a sparkplug for us and he’s been waiting to get one and today was a good day for it.”
Leading the Braves’ offensive attack in the game was L’Esperence (2-for-3 run scored), Denkin (1-for-3 home run, run, RBI), Tinsley (1-for-3 double, RBI), Giusto (1-for-3), Johnson (1-for-3 home run, run, RBI), and Jake Fletcher (1-for-4).
Taking the loss in this one for Justin-Siena was Cesar Evina. The senior righty had a rough first inning but settled in nicely over his final two frames of work. He also struck out 3 and walked 1 on 45 pitches.
“Cesar responded really well,” Tayson said of Evina. “To give up a three-spot and come back and put two zeros on the board shows maturity, show some poise and that’s what you want from pitchers.”
Braeden Butler worked 2 ⅔ innings in relief where he struck out 3 and walked 1. Have allowed 6 hits and threw 53 pitches. Drew Sangiacomo worked the last 1 ⅓ innings of the game and threw just 16 pitches.
This game could carry some importance here in a few weeks in the CIF North Coast Section Division 4 playoffs. Entering the day, Fortuna was projected to be the No. 4 seed, with the Braves as the 5 seed. In the quarterfinals the 5 and 4 could meet up, meaning that this may mean a trip to Humboldt County for Justin-Siena. You can view the playoff predictions here.
Now that they have played their final non-league game, Justin-Siena will finish up the Vine Valley Athletic League schedule this week with a pair of games as they battle for the fourth and final spot in the league tournament. On Tuesday at 4:30 pm, it will be Senior Day when they host Sonoma Valley. Then, they’ll visit Vintage on Thursday at 4 pm in the regular-season finale. On April 6th, Justin-Siena beat Sonoma Valley 1-0.
