Rodriguez takes advantage of errors, scores in every inning to beat Napa
By Kyle Foster
Twitter/X: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
Taking care of the ball is always important. Not doing so can hurt you.
On Wednesday afternoon, Rodriguez took advantage of this to beat Napa High, 13-0, in a five-inning mercy rule-shortened game.
The Mustangs (3-1) scored in every inning of the game. They began the game by scoring a run in the first when Ellie Steiger reached on an error and then scored on a triple by Angelique Boot.
In the second, they added two more when Lily Hart reached on an error and got to second on a Grace Nelson bunt single. Hart got to third on an error on the play and Nelson got to second on a wild pitch. A groundout by Alanna Williams brought in Hart. Then a single by Jasmyn White brought in Nelson.
Rodriguez added to the lead in the third with one more when Steiger ripped a double to right center and then got to third on a Boot groundout. A groundout by Skye Aguilar brought in Steiger.
In the final two innings of the game, the Mustangs put the game away with some big innings. They put up a 5 spot in the fourth and then 4 more in the fifth.
Napa (1-2) didn’t have many opportunities to score in the game as they only got one runner to second in the whole game. That came in the first when Priscilla Morgado singled and got to second on a wild pitch.
Morgado ended the day by going 1-for-2 with that single. Also getting a hit for Napa was Maggie Bowers who singled and finished the day 1-for-1.
Amelia Morrison got the win in the circle for the Mustangs. She worked all 5 innings and struck out 9 and walked 1. She also allowed 2 hits while throwing 79 pitches.
The lone bright spot in the game for Napa was senior right-hander Brooklyn Miller who allowed 9 runs to score, but only 1 of them was earned. In 3 ⅔ innings she struck out 2 and was in control most of the game by limiting to weak contact. Miller also threw 61 pitches in the contest.
“It’s another year of growth, another year of experience,” Napa High first-year head coach Todd Pridy said of Miller’s performance. “And I’ll be honest with you, we didn’t, we did not take care of her today, and the simple fact that you couldn’t tell by looking at her that she was just up there, she’s fighting, she’s looking to hit her spot and I thought she did a great job. I think that is what you expect out of a senior, is, yeah, this didn’t go well, not in any respect.”
But the issue was her defense didn’t help her. In the game, the Grizzlies made 5 errors which only made things spiral. Part of this is because they are a youthful team.
“I would argue that if there were five physical errors, we probably match that in mental errors as well,” Pridy pointed out. “That comes with experience, that comes with the speed of this level, which the vast majority of them just simply haven’t played yet. But like I said, if we recognize it, acknowledge it, adjust to it, and make sure we don’t make the same mistakes, we’ll get better. We will get better. We just have to have a willingness to do that.”
Napa will be back in action on Friday at 7 pm when they face Fortuna. The game will be played at St. Helena High School. Rodriguez will host Justin-Siena at 3:30 pm on Thursday.
