Thanks to huge games by Fletcher and Nelson, Justin-Siena keeps league title hopes alive with victory over Napa
By Kyle Foster
Twitter/X: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
At the start of a season, there are always some items a team wants to do. One of those is beating local rivals, and the other is winning a league title.
Well, suddenly these two things are both starting to come to life as Justin-Siena beat Napa High, 5-0, in the regular-season Vine Valley Athletic League series finale on Thursday afternoon at Braves Ballpark.
This is also the first time in the 7-year history of the VVAL where Justin-Siena has swept both of their local rivals.
“I think there’s a lot of pride in all the programs in town here,” Justin-Siena head coach Jeremy Tayson explained of winning the season series against their local rivals. “So anytime you’re able to emerge with a wind, whether it’s a sweep, split, or anything in between, you’re feeling a lot of pride for your own deal, just because knowing how much respect is shared between all three programs, no doubt about it.”
Justin-Siena (16-4 overall, 7-1 VVAL) started the game with a pair of runs in the first inning. It started when Drew Sangiacomo doubled down the left field line. Then, Jake Fletcher came to the plate and sent a 2-run home run over the fence in left field.
“I think you’re seeing a guy who’s really embracing the moment,” Tayson said of Fletcher. “We’ve said it every time we’ve spoken about him is that he’s a four-year varsity guy. So I think he’s coming to the tail end of his time here and just really embracing it, going all-in, and trying to create as many positive moments as possible, not just for himself but really for everyone. He’s been excellent as a leader for us, and that’s contagious.”
The Braves added another in the third when Fletcher tripled into the left-center gap and scored on a sacrifice fly to left field by Xiano Ortega.
Lastly, Justin-Siena scored a pair of runs in the fifth when Fletcher and Ortega singled to put runners on the corners. After Ortega stole second, they both scored when Henry Meyers reached on an error.
In the game, Fletcher was 3-for-3 with a home run, triple, 2 RBIs, and 3 runs scored.
But this has been coming for the 4-year varsity player who has been quietly heating up over the last few weeks. He’s cracked a pair of long balls in that span to give him the team lead in round trippers.
“I just stopped putting pressure on myself,” Fletcher said of his change in mindset that has led to being arguably the best hitter in the league. “I feel like, ever since I did that, and stopped overcomplicating ABs, the ball’s been a beach ball every time. Looking at it from the pitcher’s mound when I’m in the box, I feel like every time they release it, I just see it so well out of the hand.”
Others helping with the Braves’ offensive attack in the game were Ortega (1-for-2, stolen base, run, RBI), Sangiacomo (1-for-3, double, run), Meyers (1-for-3), and Malloy (1-for-4, triple).
As for Napa (6-16, 1-9 VVAL), they had a rough day on the offensive side. They only had one runner in scoring position all day when Frankie Robinson opened the third with a single and got to second on a Gabe Reyes sacrifice bunt.
All season long, Robinson has been a steady presence for the Grizzlies as he can also play first base and is their Tuesday starter. He ended the contest with a 1-for-2 effort at the plate.
“In American Canyon, he had a bases loaded double that he put basically off the warning track, and I think that was the big hit that he needed then to go ahead and get the confidence that he showed now, and today’s at bat he showed that he’s going to give you a confident at-bat,” Napa High head coach Jason Chatham said of Robinson’s strong at-bat to break up the no-hit bid. “He’s a big kid. He’s got a lot of pop. He’s got good hand-eye coordination, and he just kind of dropped his hands down into the zone, found the barrel, and got it up the middle to break it up.”
The only other hit for Napa came from Camden Aaen, who reached on an infield single in the fifth and ended the day by going 1-for-2.
Despite getting just a pair of hits, this game was played very closely throughout. This made Chatham very happy to see, despite coming up short.
“I think that one of the takeaways that I’m seeing, too, is that we are far more competitive than the way that our record or the scores are ending up,” he explained. “To me, I felt like we were in that game the entire time, even in the last inning. I felt like we were in that game.”
Getting the win on the bump for the Braves in the game was Spencer Nelson. The senior right-hander worked 6 innings, where he struck out 7 and gave up a pair of hits. Nelson also threw a very efficient 72 pitches on the way to picking up his 5th win of the season.
Taking the loss despite pitching pretty well in the game for Napa was sophomore right-hander Jack Herlax. He worked 6 innings and struck out 2. He also allowed 6 hits and 5 runs, with 3 of those being earned. He did this by mixing up his pitches to help navigate the loaded lineup on the other side.
“I thought Herlax really took a step forward today as a pitcher,” Chatham added. “He competed his butt off. He was around the zone all day. That was really our focus from the week in practice, is we’re gonna eliminate the walks. We’re gonna cut down on the errors.”
Both teams will continue league play next week with important games for different reasons. Justin-Siena will host Casa Grande on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. in a battle for league supremacy. As for Napa, they’ll visit Vintage on Tuesday at 4 p.m. in the Big Game, which is always important, no matter the records or circumstances.
In other VVAL games on Thursday afternoon, Petaluma beat Casa Grande 5-0 and American Canyon beat Sonoma Valley 7-5.
