Vintage gets clutch hitting to go with solid bullpen work to beat Pinole Valley, get first win of season
By Kyle Foster
Follow on Twitter/X: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
In tight games, throwing up zero after zero is a good way to win. So is getting a clutch hit when needed.
On Friday afternoon at Crusher Diamond, the Vintage baseball team did this as they beat Pinole Valley, 6-2, for their first win of the season.
Vintage (1-2) took the lead in the bottom of the fifth. This time, it was for good. The rally started when Dario Freschi was hit by a pitch and stole second. Ian Fernandez then singled and both moved up a base after a throwing error, which was followed by a walk to Blake Porter to load the bases. With the bases loaded, John Bullock poked a single to left center to give his team a 3-2 lead.
“I knew it was about time we score some runs really,” Bullock explained. “Couldn’t give me an easier situation. Bases loaded, think no outs or one out. So really just get something over the infielders’ heads and it’s a run. So (I’m) not trying to do too much. Just trying to stay simple and it worked out.”
A few batters later, James Burgess was hit by a pitch to score Fernandez.
“It was huge for the whole team because we’re not scoring a lot of runs, and you can tell they’re not quite sure what type of team we have,” Vintage skipper Billy Smith pointed out. “So they’re nervous.”
In the next inning, the Crushers scored two more runs. Austin Buffler reached on a bunt single and stole second before Freschi reached on an infield single to put runners on the corners. After Freschi swiped second, Fernandez belted a double to center field to bring in Freschi and Fernandez and give Vintage a 6-2 lead.
“Well, that’s the thing I’ve been telling these kids. We’ve got a couple of guys that we’re expecting to do good things for us,” Smith said. “Then we have those four little guys in the lineup, ‘Hey, we need you to either turn over the lineup to give a chance for Dario or Ian to come through or you need one good at-bat from those guys to put a run across.’ And today we did.”
The Crushers scored the first two runs of the game in the second when Carson McCaffrey singled and scored on a single to center by Kai Gulliksen. Gulliksen then advanced to third on a pair of wild pitches before scoring on a Buffler single.
“We were loose and it just felt like it was our ballgame,” Bullock said of the importance of the first two runs. “It kind of felt like we were in full control and we could play from there.”
Leading the offensive attack for Vintage in the game was Fernandez (2-for-3, double, run, 2 RBIs), Buffler (2-for-3 run, RBI, 2 stolen bases), Freschi (1-for-3 2 runs, 2 stolen bases), Gulliksen (1-for-3 run, RBI), Porter (1-for-3 walk), and Bullock (1-for-4 RBI).
Getting the win on the hill was Joseph Willis. The senior righty worked 3 frames where he struck out 2 and walked 3. He threw 41 pitches in the game as well.
“Jo Jo was battling and he made some good adjustments,” Smith said of Willis. “He still was behind in counts. But he was able to get his big pitches when he needed them and Joe did a great job.”
Starting the game and getting a no-decision was Charlie Alcayaga. The senior right-handed pitcher worked 3 innings. He threw 52 pitches where he struck out 4 and walked 3. He also gave up 2 earned runs.
The Spartans (3-3) tied the game up in the third with a pair of runs.
Jeffrey Page worked the seventh. He struck out 1 and threw 13 pitches.
The win was needed for the Crushers after a pair of close games to begin the season.
Vintage will be back in action on Monday at 4 pm when they visit Novato.
