Thanks to strong start on offense and getting key hits, Vintage wins offensive battle over Justin-Siena in offensive slugfest
By Kyle Foster, photo courtesy of Eric Thompson (Shamboozled.com)
Follow on Twitter/X: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
The baseball gods are on your side when hits just keep falling and runs keep coming in. After all, the key moments are when a team can hit with runners in scoring position.
On Tuesday afternoon at Braves Field, this is what the Vintage baseball team did as they were able to win an exciting Vine Valley Athletic League contest, 8-6, over Justin-Siena in a game filled with offensive fireworks between two of the best teams in the league.
One of the reasons Vintage was able to score runs so well in the game was the fact that they were great hitting with runners in scoring position. In the contest, there were 7 of 11 in the key situations.
“We just came out banging,” Vintage head coach Billy Smith said of the good hitting throughout the day. “That’s what you’ve got to do when you’re on the road. You’ve got to their park, you’ve got to put runs on them early, and then bring them back down to earth a little bit and then you’ve just got to survive. We had guys on base every single inning and as the game got going, plays were made and it’s a great baseball game on both sides that neither team gave up. They kept coming in with other pitchers, which is wild because I wish we had that staff. But our kids battled at the plate. One through nine, they competed and they had a plan.”
Another reason Vintage (9-7 overall, 5-1 VVAL) was able to win the game was a strong start to the game where they scored four times in the first inning. The rally began when Dario Freschi walked and Ian Fernandez reached on an infield single before coming around to score on a double to left-center by John Bullock. Then, a triple yanked down the right field line by James Burgess brought in Bullock. The final tally to begin the game came on a Gulliksen double to right-center.
“We knew he was going to come out and try to jump on us early,” Vintage senior second baseman Kai Gulliksen said of the first-inning approach against Justin-Siena started Luke Giusto. “Get ahead. But we just came harder.”
In the second, the Crusher tacked on three more to go up 7-0. After Austin Buffler walked and Freschi singled, a double into the right-center gap by Fernandez brought them both in. A few batters later, a Bullock single brought in Fernandez.
The Crushers scored once more in the seventh as a key add-on run. It all started when Gulliksen pulled a double down the right-field line and was followed by a Miles Tenscher walk and Frechi being hit by a pitch to load the bases. When Fernandez walked, it brought in Gulliksen.
Leading the Vintage bats In the game was Gulliksen who was 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles, a walk, an RBI, and a run scored.
“I was just really locked in today,” Gulliksen explained. “I wanted to support my team in any way I could. Execute sacks, drags anything Billy needed me to do hit-n-runs. I was just finding barrels.”
This continued a good stretch with the stick that has made him hard to get out and a difference-making player as well.
“He’s been a quiet X-factor for us offensively, and he’s come through with several big hits,” Smith said of his senior second baseman. “He’s putting together a great season and it’s from his hard work. He’s in the cages every day. He’s taking ground balls and he’s worked his butt off for the senior year and he’s flourishing.”
Others who had good games at the plate for the Crushers were Fernandez (2-for-2 double, walk, 2 runs, 3 RBIs), Freschi (2-for-3 double, stolen base, walk, 2 runs), Bullock (2-for-3 double, walk, run, Burgess (1-for-3 triple, stolen base, run, RBI), and Blake Porter (1-for-4).
The Braves (10-4, 3-2 VVAL) were able to score three times in the second to make it a 7-3 game. A Sam Denkin single and a Jason Gray walk started everything. A single by Noah Giovannelli brought in Denkin. Then, a wild pitch moved Gray and Giovannelli to second and third before Everet Johnson singled and brought both him before getting to second on the play.
They then made it a 7-4 game with a run in the fifth when Jake Fletcher singled and got to second on a wild pitch before scoring on a Luke Giusto single.
In the seventh, Justin-Siena made the game interesting by scoring two more times. Fletcher singled and moved up to second on a groundout by Henry Meyers. When Denkin singled, there were runners at the corners for Braeden Butler who doubled to right-center to bring both of them in.
“I saw our guys live up to what we talked about just playing the game of baseball,” Justin-Siena head coach Jeremy Tayson said of his team’s comeback attempts to make the game interesting. “Not getting sucked into the circumstances and playing the game one bite at a time and I’m proud of us pushing that game to the brink and having a lot of opportunities and their barrels fall in and ours didn’t.”
On the other hand, the Braves had multiple chances where a key hit could’ve shifted the momentum to their dugout and changed the game. However, they ended the game 6-for-11 but they were hitting the ball plenty hard and not finding holes.
“Well, the issue was their centerfielder went and made two really good plays,” Tayson pointed out of the plays that Burgess made to stifle rallies. “Well, we put the charge into two there with a couple of guys on and tip your cap to their centerfielder for going out there and making a play.”
Leading the offensive attack for Justin-Siena in the game was Fletcher (2-for-3 walk, 2 runs), Denkin (2-for-4 2 runs), Giovannelli (1-for-2 run, RBI, 2 walks), Butler (1-for-4 double, 2 RBIs), Johnson (1-for-4 2 RBIs), Giusto (1-for-4 RBI), and Spencer Nelson (1-for-4).
Getting the win on the bump for Vintage was Joseph Willis. The senior righty covered 4 ⅓ innings where he walked 4 and struck out 2. He threw 74 pitches and gave up 7 hits and four earned runs on the way to getting his fifth winning decision of the season.
Charlie Alcayaga worked the final 2 ⅔ innings on the way to a multiple-inning save. He struck out 5 and walked 1 while allowing two earned runs. He threw 41 pitches.
The teams will meet again on Thursday at 4 pm at Vintage in game 2 of the week-long series. In other VVAL games on Tuesday, Casa Grande beat Sonoma Valley 5-3 and American Canyon beat Napa 4-0.
