Rancho Cotate uses massive second inning to stun Justin-Siena in CIF North Coast Section playoff opener
By Kyle Foster
Twitter/X: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
Some teams are just relentless. It doesn’t matter what you do, they aren’t going to let you win that game. And then there are some days in baseball where it’s a day full of tough breaks, and it’s going to be hard to win because baseball is a wacky and cruel game.
On Wednesday afternoon at Braves Ballpark, both were true as No. 15 seed Rancho Cotate-Rohnert Park stunned No. 2 seed Justin-Siena, 12-5, in a CIF North Coast Section Division 2 first-round game.
The Cougars (14-12) had the momentum in the game from the start. They scored the first run in the first inning when they pushed across a run. After drawing a walk, Stephen Scott scored on a bloop double to right field by Camden Harrington.
After losing the lead, Rancho Cotate roared back to put up a six-spot in the second and take a 7-4 lead. Luke Morie walked and stole second base before scoring when Marshall Lemons reached on an error. Lemons advanced to third on a groundout and then scored on a Jeremiah Olivera single. On Scott’s triple to right field, Olivera scored. Jett Derammeleaere’s single plated Scott. After that, Harrington was hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second for Caden Bolin Percy, who singled in Derammeleaere. A single by Morie then brought home Harrington.
In the fourth, Rancho Cotate extended its lead when Scott singled and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Derammeleaere before scoring when Bolin Percy reached on an error.
The Cougars kept adding on as they added another pair of runs in the fifth when Lemons singled and then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Aiden O’Sullivan and then got to third on an Olivera single. Lemons scored on an errant pickoff attempt at first base, which also moved Olivera to second. A sacrifice fly to center field by Harrington brought in Lemons.
In the final inning, Rancho Cotate added two more runs to put the game out of reach. Olivera walked and got to second on a wild pitch. Then, Anthony Barbato singled to put runners at first and second for Derammeleaere, who singled in Olivera. On that same play, Derammeleaere scored on an error fielding the ball in left field.
Justin-Siena (20-7) scored four runs in the bottom half of the first to shift the momentum back to its dugout. The rally began when Tommy Malloy singled and then moved up to second on an errant throw on a backpick, and then swiped third. That was followed by a pair of walks to Drew Sangiacomo and Jake Fletcher to load the bases. A walk to Xiano Ortega brought in Malloy. A single by Henry Meyers brought in Sangiacomo. When Spencer Nelson was hit by a pitch, Fletcher scored. The last run of the inning came when Braeden Butler grounded into a fielder’s choice to bring in Ortega.
“We had the right energy,” Justin-Siena head coach Jeremy Tayson said. “ We had the right posture for success today, and happy with how we came out, and really happy, more or less, with how we played offensively, just a lot of things didn’t go our way with the balls in play.”
The Braves tallied their final run of the game in the third when Meyers singled and later scored on a single by Charlie Im.
Leading the Justin-Siena offense in the game were Fletchers (2-for-3, walk, run, double), Im (1-for-3, RBI), Meyers (1-for-4, run, RBI), and Malloy (1-for-4, run).
Another thing that haunted Justin-Siena in the game was the 5 errors they made in the game. This sloppy play is attributed to 4 runs being unearned in the game.
“Maybe we got a little sped up and they were persistent in getting the ball in play,” Tayson explained. “The more balls you get in play, the more likely things are going to happen, whether it’s a hit error or anything in between. So it’s not something that we’re worried about. It’s just something that happened.”
With the win, the Cougars will travel to face No. 7 Livermore on Saturday afternoon at 1 after collecting their first playoff win since 2018.
As for Justin-Siena, this ends what was a banner season. After tying for the Vine Valley Athletic League regular season title, they won the VVAL postseason tournament to prove they were the class of the league. They also set a new bar for the level at which to compete.
“I think we’ll remember their spirit,” Tayson said of the group and what will be remembered most about them. “It’s a very fun-loving group. It’s a very dedicated group, and they raised the bar. We got a VVAL banner, and we’ve put our name up unequivocally with some of the best names in Northern California. When you come into rankings and this and that, right, which we don’t spend a lot of time thinking about, but that’s what it says in print. So they established that standard that’s built up on the back of past classes. And what we’ll remember is what they gave not only us but each other. That stuff is contagious, man, that stuff is contagious. It’s going to last around here for a long time.”
