Mistakes comeback to bite Vintage in loss to Casa Grande

By Kyle Foster

kfost91197@gmail.com

Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews   

There are times in sports where you run into a team that’s just better than you. 

However, that also means that there’s not a very big margin of error when you face them. So, not executing the fundamentals will come back to haunt you. 

Both were the case on Wednesday when the Vintage baseball team lost to Casa Grande 9-2. The win gives Casa Grande sole possession of first place in the Vine Valley Athletic League. 

“I think we played the scoreboard. I think we played the team a little bit too much instead of staying within ourselves – fielding ground balls when we got our shot, catching fly balls, and throwing strikes,” Vintage manager Billy Smith said.  

Casa Grande (6-0 overall, 5-0 Vine Valley Athletic League) gained a 5-0 advantage thanks to a run in the second and four in the third. 

The Crushers (4-2, 3-1 VVAL) scored their only two runs in the third. It all started when Boden Cooke singled and scored when Alex Dehzad grounded into a fielder’s choice with an error on the throw to first that allowed Cooke to come in. After moving to second on a single by Davide Migotto, Dehazad scored on a single by Ian Avalos. 

“Our 7, 8, 9 hitters set the tempo for us and loaded the bases for us,” Smith explained. “We got our big guy up and was able to have a shot with our 3, 4, 5 guys. Avalos came up with a two-out hit and we went from there. That’s what we have to do as a team. Your bottom half is picking up, setting the table for the middle boys. Good things can happen. That’s all we have to do.” 

After scoring those two runs, it appeared as if Vintage could hang around and maybe claw their way back into the game. However, that was short-lived after the Gauchos added four more runs in the fifth inning. 

“Well, that’s when I think our kids got caught playing the scoreboard instead of playing the game,” Smith added. “When you go 7-2 on you, kids start thinking negative thoughts.”  

Also making things challenging for the Crushers was the fact that they faced Long Beach State commit Gavin Ochoa. He threw 87 pitches and worked six innings. In 87 pitches, he struck out 8 and walked just one. He also allowed two runs on the day, both of which were unearned. 

“The guy on their side was just around the dish, kept his defense in line,” Smith said of Ochoa. 

Vintage used multiple pitchers on the day. According to Smith, they struggled with throwing strikes. 

Both teams will be back in action later this week. Vintage will continue league play on Friday at 4 pm when they visit American Canyon. Casa Grande will have the league bye on Friday and then host Rancho Cotate-Rohnert Park on Saturday at 1 pm. 

In other VVAL action Wednesday, Justin-Siena beat American Canyon 11-6. Petaluma also beat Sonoma Valley 8-5. In the lone non-league game, Napa beat Bethel-Vallejo 5-4. Napa had the league bye Wednesday.