Four-run third inning rally proves to be plenty of offense as Piersig throws no-hitter to lead Vintage past Justin-Siena
By Kyle Foster
Follow on Twitter/X: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
Baseball is one crazy game. When a team is rolling, they get big hits at key times and find ways to win games.
In a Vine Valley Athletic League contest on Thursday afternoon at Crusher Field, Vintage continued their red-hot streak as they beat Justin-Siena, 5-0, in the second and final regular-season meeting between the two teams.
Vintage (10-7 overall, 6-1 VVAL) was able to take the lead in the third when they scored four times. It all started when Lucas Henry singled and got to third on a single by Dario Freschi to put runners at the corners with one out. That was followed by an Ian Fernandez single that brought in Henry. A single by John Bullock brought in Freschi from second. The big blow came when James Burgess ripped a triple down the right-field line to bring in Fernandez and Bullock.
The Crushers added one more in the sixth to go up 5-0 when Kai Gulliksen was hit by a pitch and got to second on a groundout. He later scored when Lucas Henry pulled a single down the third-base line and got to second when the ball was booted in left field.
Leading the Vintage batting in the game was Henry (3-for-3 RBI, run scored), Blake Porter (2-for-4 double), Bullock (1-for-2 walk, run, RBI), Burgess (1-for-3 triple, 2 RBIs), Fernandez (1-for-3 walk, run, RBI), and Freschi (1-for-3 run).
It’s also the end of a great week for Burgess who has since heated up from the fifth spot on the lineup card. He had a triple on Tuesday and added another on Thursday. His at-bats are huge and I’m glad he’s getting the a shot to do it.”
“I think it just really changed my approach at the five spot,” Burgess said of his great week. “It’s my job to get more runners in (and) do more damage to the ball.”
Burgess has also been playing stellar defense in center field during this time as well, making him an asset on both sides of the ball.
“In batting practice, Coach Smith makes us outfielders go to our spots, get our reads,” Burgess said of his great defense in center. “I feel like that’s really beneficial to us because we see the ball off the bat every day.”
Getting the win on the hill for Vintage was Noah Piersig. However, he did it in a grand fashion as he threw a no-hitter.
In the game, he was extremely efficient because he utilized the defense behind him as it took him just 70 pitches to get through the game.
“I might have not been as aware but that’s always a goal of mine is to just come out and throw strikes,” Piersig pointed out. “It’s kind of a lost art but I like to go deep into games as frequently as I can and today just executed well.”
Throughout the day, Piersig used his defense to help get this no-hitter. In the top of the seventh, it was nearly lost before Dario Freschi made a leaping play to rob a hit. Kai Gulliksen also made an over-the-shoulder catch on a pop-up earlier in the game. All of these types of plays generally happen when something special like a no-hitter is going on.
“My defense a huge is a huge part of every single game,” Piersig said of the guys who make plays for him. “I trust them completely. I know if I just fill up the zone they’re gonna play great defense behind me and that’s been huge for me this year.”
He also struck out six in the game and didn’t walk anyone. He only allowed two base runners all day as well, which put him very close to a perfect game. This was also his fourth win of the season and also lowered his ERA to 2.31. He has won his last four starts of the season as well.
Piersig joins some elite company with the no-hitter as well. The last no-hitter thrown by a Crusher pitcher was back in 2016 when Jared Horn dominated a Big Game win over Napa High at Cleve Borman Field in Yountville.
He also said that it’s cool to share an accomplishment as accomplished as Horn.
“I’m honored to be mentioned with a name like Jared Horn,” Piersig explained of the company he joined. “That’s a pitcher that means a lot to me and the program. It’s just been surreal. The whole last inning, my mind was racing. But I just tried to stay calm, trust my stuff, and just came out with the no-hitter and that’s just awesome.”
Yet, the one common denominator in both is pitching coach Mark Lundeen who has overseen the staff for a while now.
“He just had he had his movement on his pitches,” Vintage head coach Billy Smith said. “He put the pitch on the coach Mark called. Coach Lundeen is an outstanding pitching coach and he put them in spots to be successful. Noah hit his spots and made pitches and I’m proud of him.”
Justin-Siena (10-5, 3-3 VVAL) only had two baserunners all day. Ben Sebastiani reached on an error in the sixth and Everet Johnson was hit by a pitch in the first.
Taking the loss in the game was Johnson. He threw 5 ⅔ innings in the game where he walked 3 and struck out 2. In 109 pitches, he allowed 5 runs, with 4 of them being earned. This was his first loss of the season.
In the game, he still battled and kept his team in the game despite getting no support from the offense.
“Everet pitched his butt off,” Justin-Siena head coach Jeremy Tayson said of Johnson. “I think the line doesn’t reflect how well he pitched you know, they had a couple of balls find holes. Like I said earlier, they’re red hot and things are going their way. And it definitely went their way at the right time today when they put another four spot up there.”
Spencer Nelson worked the last ⅓ of an inning in the game.
The win also gives Vintage a bit of breathing room down to third in the league as well. It also moves the current winning streak at home against the Braves to 5, meaning they’ve never lost on their home field against their rivals on Trower Avenue. Lastly, this ends any chances of the three schools in Napa splitting with each other like they had the last two seasons.
Vintage now heads into their league bye week where they’ll be busy when they visit Redwood-Larkspur on Saturday at 1 pm and host San Marin on Thursday at 4 pm. As for Justin-Siena, they’ll host Hercules on Saturday at 2 pm before continuing league play on Tuesday when they host Napa High at 4:30 pm.
In other VVAL games on Thursday afternoon, American Canyon beat Napa 18-4 and Casa Grande beat Sonoma Valley 3-0.
