California Rays capitalize on errors to beat Napa Valley Baseball Club 19s in offensive slugfest at first day of Bill Buckner Memorial 4th of July tournament

By Kyle Foster

kfost91197@gmail.com

Twitter/X: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews

YOUNTVILLE-Booting the ball around is usually a recipe for bad things to happen in a ball game. 

On Thursday afternoon at Cleve Borman Field, this was a key factor as the California Rays beat the Napa Valley Baseball Club 19U, 11-9, in the final game of the first day of the 47th annual Bill Buckner Memorial 4th of July tournament. This game only went six innings due to the 2-hour, 15-minute time limit. 

To begin the game, NVBC (14-7) jumped out to an early lead. The rally began when Tommy Malloy, James Burgess, and John Bullock walked to load the bases. A double into the right-center gap by Drew Sangiacomo brought in Malloy and Burgess and moved courtesy runner Cole Joy to third. A sacrifice fly to center by Spencer Nelson brought in Joy. To end the scoring in that frame, a single by Riley Marek brought in Sangiacomo. 

“Well, they were struggling to throw strikes at the beginning, and then we had a key hit that scored us a couple of runs,” Napa Valley Baseball Club 19s manager Gary Newman said of the first-inning offense. 

In the fifth, the Napa Valley Baseball Club scored again to cut the deficit to four. Sangiacomo was hit by a pitch and moved to third on a double into the left-center gap by Nelson. This play was ruled a ground-rule double as it went into the ivy. After the ball was picked up in the ivy, both runners came around to score before ultimately being sent back to their previous bases. A sacrifice fly by Marek brought home Sangiacomo. 

Though they were down in the sixth, NVBC made a game of it by scoring four times in the inning. Malloy doubled to left-center and got to third on an errant throw, and then scored on a single by Burgess. Hayden Hulquist walked and got to second on a wild pitch that also moved Burgess to third, and was followed by a Sangiacomo walk to load the bases. A double to center field by Nelson brought in Burgess, Hulquist, and Sangiacomo. 

Nelson led the offensive attack in the game for NVBC as he was 2-for-3 with 2 doubles and 4 RBIs. Over the last few months, the William Jessup University-bound player has had a knack for the big moments, too. 

“I’ve had him since he was like 14 or 15, so he’s a fun kid to coach,” Newman pointed out. “He competes, he comes through in big spots a lot of times,  and he’s gonna go play some college baseball and his future’s bright with what he’s got going.” 

Others helping out the offense in the game were Malloy (2-for-3, double, walk, stolen base, 2 runs scored), Burgess (1-for-3, walk, RBI, 2 runs), Sangiacomo (1-for-2, double, walk, 2 RBIs, 3 runs), and Marek (1-for-1, double, 2 walks, 2 RBIs). 

The California Rays found themselves down early but certainly battled back as the game went on in this one. They immediately got back into the game early with a two-spot in the second inning, which was fueled by a pair of errors. 

“Just maybe a lack of focus,” Newman explained of the costly errors in the game. “It’s a rough one today. Everybody was booting the ball around, and that’s the way it goes sometimes.” 

In the third, the Rays added another to get back to within a run at 4-3. But in the fourth, they took control of the game with a four-spot punctuated by a two-run home run. 

The Rays added a pair of runs again in the fifth and sixth to make it hard to come back from, as they just kept adding on.

Getting a no-decision in the game for NVBC 19s was Peter Trovich. He worked 3 innings in the game, walking 2 and striking out 1. He also scattered 6 hits and allowed 3 runs, where only 1 of them was earned on 78 pitches. 

“That’s two starts in a row for Peter that he’s pitched well, then we just can’t, can’t help, can’t play behind him,” Newman added on Trovich. “ So for the most part, he’s doing his job, and we just can’t make plays that we need to make to get out. But he’s pitching well this summer. He’s got a handful of innings, and his last two starts have been really impressive.” 

Both teams will be back in action on Friday, on the second day of the tournament. California Rays will face San Bruno V.F.W. at 11:30 am, while NVBC 19U will meet Solano Mudcats at 4:45 pm. This will be all the pool 2 action for the day. 

Other results from the day

In the opening game of the event, the San Francisco Cardinals beat the Community Project of Napa Crushers 19U 3-2. 

The Napa Valley Baseball Club 17Us beat the SF Cardinals 13-3. On Friday at 2:15 pm, the Community Projects of Napa Crushers face the NVBC 17s. All of these games were part of pool 1 action. 

The other game of the day saw the Rays beat the Solano Mudcats 18-0. With the Rays being 2-0 through the first day, they should be in a prime position to play in a semifinal on Sunday.   

Admission to the tournament is $5, and there is a 50/50 raffle with the snack bar open during each game. The speed limit on the California Veterans’ Home property is 15 MPH.