Key rallies in fourth and fifth innings lead Community Project of Napa Crushers 19U past Napa Valley Baseball Club 17U in pitchers duel

By Kyle Foster

kfost91197@gmail.com

Twitter/X: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews

YOUNTVILLE-In a pitcher’s duel, most of the time it comes down to execution of the small things. Doing this gives you a good chance to win.

On Friday afternoon of the 47th annual Bill Buckner Memorial 4th of July tournament at Cleve Borman Field, this is what the Community Projects of Napa Crushers 19U beat the Napa Valley Baseball Club 17U, 4-2, in pool 2 action during the second day of the tournament. 

The Crushers (5-10) had to come back to win the game. They did this by first scoring a pair of runs in the fourth. It began when Jack Chiu roped a double into left-center and then got to third when Edwin Lauritsen reached on an error. Lauritsen stole second, and then Joey Payne walked to load the bases. When Max Kahne reached on a fielder’s choice, Chiu scored and Lauritsen got to third before scoring on a wild pitch.

In the fifth, the Napa Crushers added two more runs. This gave them the lead that they wouldn’t relinquish. This rally began when Paul Heil doubled into the left-center gap and was run for by Koa Robinson. When Sumner Eakins was hit by a pitch, it put runners on first and second for Chiu, who reached on a fielder’s choice to load the bases. A bases-loaded walk to Lauritsen brought in Robinson. Payne reached on an error to bring in Eakins. But all of this came with some good execution of small ball. 

“Well, again, part of our growth is not just going up there and taking whacks,” Community Projects of Napa Crushers manager Andy Griffin explained. “We’re starting to play a more mature brand of baseball. So, where we can, I have trust in the guys. We’ve worked hard enough, I can trust them to lay a bunt down or steal or those situations. We don’t have to count on the big bomb or the extra base hit.” 

Leading the offensive effort for the Crushers were Chiu (2-for-3, walk, run, double) and Heil (1-for-4, double, run scored). 

Napa Valley Baseball Club (14-4) scored the opening runs of the contest when they scored twice in the third. The rally started when Henry Ray was hit by a pitch and ran for by Abe Shweiky. On a flyout by Connor Zuehlsdorff, Shweiky tagged to third. Parker Dahl reached on an infield single to move Shweiky to third. A wild pitch brought in Schweiky and moved Dahl to second. The final run came when Tysin Costella was hit by a pitch to bring in Dahl. 

“Our lead-off guys are usually really reliable,” Napa Valley Baseball Club 17U manager John Hurd said of the early rally that gave them the lead. “We went out and they did their job, and then things just kind of slowed down, and we really struggled to find good contact the rest of the game.” 

Those leading the offensive attack for the NVBC 17s were Dahl (1-for-4, run), Costella (1-for-2, RBI), and Ray (1-for-2).

Getting the win in the game for the Crushers was Heil. He went a complete game and allowed just 3 hits in the game. He struck out 7 and walked 5 in the game on 111 pitches. Heil also gave up 2 earned runs.

“He’s been around for many years, and in that last thing there, I was like ‘There’s no way I can take him out’,” Griffin explained of Heil’s effort on the bump. “I couldn’t. He’s been around so long (that) he deserved to walk off that mound a winner. I knew it was almost a guarantee he was going to finish that game. He’s got the stamina and the strength to be able to do that for us, to be able to go out there and just basically take the team on his back and carry them.” 

He was able to do this by missing barrels all day long and forcing weak contact. However, the right-hander was also ahead in a lot of counts, and this made things a lot easier. 

“Every time, just try to go out there and do everything I can to help the team win, and that means throwing strikes and getting ahead in the count,” Heil explained. “So had a few innings where I couldn’t do that, but overall, it’s pretty good today.”

Taking the loss despite pitching well was Charlie Blaum. He also threw a complete game and allowed 3 hits while walking 4 and striking out 3. The righty also allowed 4 unearned runs to score and gave his team a chance to win. 

“He was fantastic,” Hurd said of Blaum’s effort in the game. “He did his job. He definitely did his job. Unfortunately, the rest of the team just let him down a little bit. But that’s part of baseball.” 

This is also a big win for the Crushers as it signifies how far they’ve come. They have been in a pair of close games during the tournament, which further showcases how their summer has been as a whole. 

“Well, the wins big,” Griffin said. “When we talked the other day, too, about the growth of this program, is that we’ve started at lower levels and stuff, and then we’ve grown and grown to where we got to the point where we compete, and now we’re competing to win, and now we’re winning. So I think continue to see the growth with some of the older guys that have been around, so they’ve really worked hard to get to this point. So it’s nice for them to get a little bit of the payout for the time they put in and the work they put in.” 

Both teams will finish up pool 1 play when they play Bercovich. The NVBC 17s will have their crack at Bercovich first in the 2:15 pm game, which will then be followed up by the final game of pool play when Community Projects of Napa Crushers 19s face Bercovich at 4:45 pm.  

Other results from day 2 of pool play

In the first game of the day, the San Francisco Cardinals beat Bercovich 8-7. This sets up a scenario where three teams can go 2-1 in pool 1. If this were to be the case, the next tiebreaker is the fewest runs allowed. 

The California Rays sealed up pool 2 as they beat San Bruno V.F.W. in the second game. In other pool 2 action, the NVBC 19s beat the Solano Mudcats 11-1. 

Tomorrow’s other games feature the NVBC 19s against San Bruno V.F.W. at 11:30 am and San Bruno against the Mudcats at 9 am. 

The price for admission to the event is $5, and the snack bar is open all day. The speed limit on the Veterans Home property is 15 MPH.