August 2011
2 posts
Petaluma Piratas Win 2nd Annual Leonhardt Cup Wine...
The Petaluma Piratas defeated the Sonoma Grape Crushers 8 to 1 to capture the Leonhardt Cup.  The Petaluma team led by Manager Val Altamare ended the season undefeated at 16 and 0.  The Sonoma Grape Crushers 12 and 4.   Petaluma started off strong in the 2nd inning on a two run double into the left center gap by Jarrod Camara.  Jarrod was 2 fo 3 on the day.  Mike Miller the Piratas pitcher...
Aug 20th
The baseball would be real, but not the bricks or...
July 29, 2011 By Chris Smith THE PRESS DEMOCRAT If anybody can at last succeed at bringing back great, close-up, filled-seats baseball to Sonoma County, it could be Howard Leonhardt. The restless entrepreneur, winery owner and founder of Wine Country Baseball is about to unveil a clever and perhaps financially doable vision for Cape Cod League-type premier summertime collegiate baseball...
Aug 1st
June 2011
1 post
Windsor tops Healdsburg 12-6 in Rec Park Opener
It was baseball weather at Rec Park Saturday evening, warm and clear with a hint of breeze. But the wind picked up when starting pitchers took the mound, Max Rubenstein of the Healdsburg Owls facing the hard-hitting line-up of the Windsor Wonders. Windsor ended up on top over Healdsburg, with the final score 12 to 6. Although the Wine Country Baseball 2011 season is two weeks old, this was...
Jun 21st
March 2011
1 post
Wine Country Baseball Announces Key Hires and...
Wine Country Baseball, http://www.winecountrybaseball.com, today announced the hiring of legendary current head of baseball at Sonoma State University, John Goelz, as Consultant and Commissioner of the new Wine Country Baseball Premier Collegiate League. Geyserville, CA (PRWEB) March 10, 2011 Wine Country Baseball, http://www.winecountrybaseball.com, today announced the hiring of legendary...
Mar 10th
September 2010
12 posts
3 tags
Living for the Game
One man’s story of his personal struggle and how baseball has helped him cope   Cassady, who was born three months premature and diagnosed with cerebral palsy as an infant, is the official scorekeeper for the Wine Country Baseball League in Sonoma County, CA. Photos by Matt Hanlon By Matt Hanlon A quick first glance may tell you that the wiry man behind the scorer’s table is just a weathered...
Sep 19th
2 notes
5 tags
Windsor shuts out Sebastopol 5-0
Jon Martinez throws in the eighth inning of the Wonders’ 5-0 shutout of Sebastopol at Cardinal Newman High School on Saturday. By Matt Hanlon Wine Country Baseball.com Facing a tough Apples’ team Windsor needed a win to stay firmly in second in the Sonoma North Division standings. They got exactly what they needed. Strong offense and perfection in the field fueled the Wonders 5-0 win over...
Sep 19th
7 tags
Healdsburgh rallies early in win over Apples
Owls’ starter Josh Cimino throws in a rain soaked first inning of Healdsburgh’s 13-10 victory over Sebastopol at Cardinal Newman High School on Saturday. By Matt Hanlon Wine Country Baseball.com With the disparity between the two teams’ records, when Sebastopol jumped out to a 5-1 lead after the first inning, things didn’t look good for Healdsburgh. In the past the Owls would have...
Sep 19th
Sep 18th
5 tags
Petaluma offense goes big
For photos from Friday night’s game click here. (Photos by Emily Farmer) By Matt Hanlon Wine Country Baseball.com On a night when everything seemed to go wrong for the Yountville Robins, everything seemed to go right for the Petaluma Piratas. Petaluma struck early, and struck often as the Piratas continued their successful season atop the Sonoma South Division with a 16-2 win over...
Sep 17th
8 tags
St. Helena rallies from behind late in win
By Matt Hanlon Wine Country Baseball.com The St. Helena Angels entered Thursday night’s game with their stakes in the playoff race in jeopardy. That proved to be more enough motivation. Trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Angels scored four runs to keep their playoff hopes very much alive as they defeated the Rohnert Park Dragons 6-3 at Golis Park in Rohnert Park. An error, a bunt...
Sep 15th
Windsor wins big over Bandits
By Matt Hanlon Wine Country Baseball.com SANTA ROSA—Cloverdale’s defensive and offensive woes continued on Saturday. Windsor was the attacker this time, as the team flexed its muscles at the plate and on the mound, combining for fifteen hits while allowing only four. The Wonders scored four runs in the first, four in the second and sprinkled in a few more runs in the following innings en route to...
Sep 11th
4 tags
Napa wins five straight
By Matt Hanlon Wine Country Baseball.com ROHNERT PARK— The Knights were a struggling team. After a slew of losses, culminating in a numbing 18-0 loss to the Windsor Wonders on Aug. 5, Napa’s record was a meager 2-6. But those struggles are long gone. Since the Windsor debacle, the Knights have quietly surged back, winning their last five games, including the most Saturday night’s game, a 9-3...
Sep 11th
4 tags
Angels win big over Yountville
Top: St. Helena’s Justin Wade and Yountville’s Nik Gutierrez collide on a stolen base by Wade in the first inning. Bottom: Steve O’ Dell fields a bouncing grounder in the second inning. By Matt Hanlon Wine Country Baseball.com ROHNERT PARK—Yountville’s Billy Hamilton may have received a loss on Friday night. But not for lack of effort. Hamilton threw 167 pitches in a complete...
Sep 10th
6 tags
Santa Rosa gets on the board early in win over...
Top: Luis Matamoros slides past the tag of Brett Williams to score in the sixth inning of Santa Rosa’s 8-3 win over Oakville on Thursday night. Bottom: Twilight settles over Golis Park as Greg Pease throws to the plate. Pease pitched six innings without allowing an earned run to earn the win. Photos by Matt Hanlon By Matt Hanlon Wine Country Baseball.com ROHNERT PARK—The Giants got...
Sep 9th
6 tags
Healdsburgh wins three in a row
Cloverdale second baseman Kwame Clark shows the umpire the ball as the runner is called safe. Photo by Emily Farmer By Matt Hanlon Wine Country Baseball.com Three games ago the Healdsburgh Owls were a team struggling to get their feet moving. Winless, and struggling defensively and offensively, each game was a slow improvement. But Healdsburgh has won its last three games and appears to...
Sep 2nd
7 tags
Who are the Crush Girls? They’re the smiling, helpful ladies in uniform you see at check in and the merchandise stands at the games. But really, who are the ladies in uniform? Here is a brief profile of a few of WCB’s own Crush Girls for you to find out. More to follow. Emily Age: 23 Healdsburgh, CA Zodiac sign: Pisces Besides being a Crushgirl: hairstylist Hobbies: cooking,...
Sep 1st
August 2010
23 posts
9 tags
Petaluma scraps another close win
Top: Mike Miller scores the game winning run for Petaluma in the top of the ninth as his teammates look on. Bottom: St. Helena starting pitcher Mike Cassady pitched 8 2/3 innings Saturday and was branded with the loss. By Matt Hanlon Wine Country Baseball.com Some how, some way, the Piratas got it done again. With two outs, a runner on first, and trailing by two runs in the top of the...
Aug 29th
8 tags
Windsor falls to Rohnert Park
Top: Windsor second baseman Derek Farrell dives for a ball in the fifth inning. Bottom: Rohnert Park shortstop Matt Kasch attempts to turn a throws to first over a sliding Jarrod Dumont. By Matt Hanlon Wine Country Baseball.com After a heartbreaking 6-5 extra inning loss earlier in the week, Rohnert Park was desperately in need of a win. In order to keep their playoff hopes alive, losing wasn’t...
Aug 28th
6 tags
Petaluma holds off Sebastopol, 7-1
Mike Miller did it all for Petaluma on his birthday. He came up big on the mound, striking out 15 through nine innings, and at the plate, with an RBI triple and a run scored. By Matt Hanlon Wine Country Baseball.com In what could very well be a playoff preview, the top two teams of the Sonoma South Division squared off at Golis Park. Coming off a big loss and a two week break, the Piratas had...
Aug 26th
2 tags
Owls win in extra innings
Healdsburgh (2-9) is on a roll after winning their second game in a row on Wednesday night in Sonoma. The Owls came from behind to beat the Dragons (4-6) in a thrilling 6-5, ten-inning victory at Arnold Field. Here’s what winning pitcher Ryan Surina had to say on his team’s efforts in the. “We kept our heads in the game and our guys clutched it out,” he said. “We...
Aug 25th
7 tags
Bats come alive for Cloverdale
J.J. Jamerson came on in relief in the Bandits 13-3 win over Sonoma on Saturday at Cardinal Newman High School. By Matt Hanlon Wine Country Baseball.com With all the offensive struggles the Cloverdale Bandits have had this season, a one-run lead less than comforting. But when the Bandits entered the bottom of the sixth with a 4-3 lead over Sonoma they aimed to change that habit. Cloverdale (3-6)...
Aug 22nd
9 tags
Aug 22nd
9 tags
Aug 22nd
5 tags
Change in playoff format announced
As we near the end of the season a lot of questions have arisen regarding the playoff structure. In order to give more teams a chance to advance in playoffs, this is what the Wine Country Baseball League Board of Directors has established. NOTE: All series will be played in the best of three games format. The top TWO teams advance from each division:             -North Sonoma County...
Aug 22nd
6 tags
Oakville shocks Giants with tie
Top: The Aces’ bench erupts as Manny Hernandez ties the game at 8-8 in Oakville’s tie with league leading Santa Rosa on Saturday at CNHS. Bottom: Nick Green beats the throw on a close play at first. By Matt Hanlon Wine Country Baseball In baseball, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. And apparently, sometimes you tie, with the game to be continued at a later date. File...
Aug 22nd
8 tags
Owls get first win of season
For a slideshow of the Owls’ first win, click here. By Matt Hanlon Wine Country Baseball.com The scene could not have been more perfect. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth the Owls led 4-1, the tying run at the plate for the Yountville Robins, one out away from their first win of a trying season. Fog encircled Golis Park, enveloping the field in a heavy mist as the Owls held baited...
Aug 21st
7 tags
Windsor back on track after win over Angels
Ryan Payne grimaces after hurting himself on a play in the seventh inning. Because the injury left the Angels with only eight available players, they were forced to forfeit the remainder of the game. By Matt Hanlon Wine Country Baseball.com Too few and stretched a little to thin. That pretty much sums up St. Helena’s struggles in Saturday afternoon’s game against the Windsor Wonders. With...
Aug 21st
10 tags
Aug 20th
8 tags
With help of Dumont, Dragons reach .500
Jared Dumont was all business on the mound Wednesday night, striking out 21 en route to a Dragons’ 5-3 victory over Cloverdale at Arnold Field in Sonoma. By Matt Hanlon Wine Country Baseball.com Rohnert Park starting pitcher Jared Dumont was all laughs after the game. And why not? After all he’d just thrown nine innings without an earned run, gotten a win, and oh by the way, struck...
Aug 19th
7 tags
Santa Rosa overpowers scrappy Piratas
Top: Luis Matamoros races to first after a bunt in the third inning. Bottom: Santa Rosa starter Greg Pease struck out fourteen through eight innings in the Giants 10-1 rout of Petaluma on Saturday. By Matt Hanlon Wine Country Baseball.com It was a game that was slated to be one of the most highlighted contests of the month, but it quickly turned into a slugfest. The problem for the Piratas...
Aug 14th
8 tags
Sebastopol shuts out Crushers
Top: Matt Raichart slides into second with a stolen base as Alfred Garcia can’t come up with the ball. Bottom: Sonoma starter Jesse Asher contemplates his performance after being removed as pitcher in the eighth inning. Photos by Matt Hanlon By Matt Hanlon Wine Country Baseball.com The Crushers were able to hold the burgeoning Apples’ offense to four runs through eight innings. But in...
Aug 14th
7 tags
Napa holds off Windsor, 7-5
Trevor Fox came on in relief and was nothing short of spectacular, throwing six innnigs and striking out 14 in the Knights’ 7-5 victory over Windsor. By Matt Hanlon Wine Country Baseball.com Many of the Windsor Wonders got to Cardinal Newman High School before 8 a.m. Saturday for a pregame batting practice. Windsor, coming off of a loss to Petaluma earlier in the week, was badly in need...
Aug 14th
6 tags
Sebastopol and Oakville play nine-inning draw,...
By Matt Hanlon Wine Country Baseball.com Thursday night’s contest was a back and forth battle of who could hold off the other team’s offense the longest. In the end, the answer was quite indicative of the game’s box score: neither. In dramatic fashion, the Oakville Aces scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth to tie the Sebastopol Apples at 7-7, sending the game into extra innings. However, the...
Aug 12th
10 tags
Petaluma holds off Wonders, 10-9
By Matt Hanlon Wine Country Baseball.com The Petaluma Piratas entered week 11 of Wine Country Baseball with perhaps the toughest week schedule off any team this season. And they started it all off with yet another dramatic win at Arnold Field. Despite leading for the entire game, a few costly defensive and pitching errors put the Piratas’ hopes for a big week in jeopardy. But Petaluma (7-2)...
Aug 11th
1 note
6 tags
Rohnert Park overpowers Sonoma, 11-4
Eric Walker singles up the middle in the sixth inning in Rohnert Park’s 11-4 victory over the Sonoma Crushers Saturday at Cardinal Newman High School. By Matt Hanlon Wine Country Baseball.com The Sonoma Crushers, after coming up on the short end of a dramatic ninth inning finish on Wednesday night in Sonoma, were in need of a win against the powerful Rohnert Park Dragons. Unfortunately for...
Aug 7th
1 note
6 tags
Healdsburgh loses big to Giants
By Matt Hanlon Wine Country Baseball.com It was a David versus Goliath matchup. Unfortunately for Healdsburgh, Goliath was just a little too powerful for any Biblical upsets. The Owls scored first but got shut down after that, ultimately losing 12-1 to the league leading Santa Rosa Giants (9-1). Santa Rosa’s Greg Pease threw seven innings of one-run baseball, allowing two hits, striking out...
Aug 7th
6 tags
Oakville takes down the Owls
By Matt Hanlon Wine Country Baseball.com The inaugural season of Wine Country Baseball has been a trying one for the Healdsburgh Owls, who have been plagued with a struggling defense and pitching staff. On a chilly summer night in Napa the Owls showed flickers of promise against the Oakville Aces, but the end result was no different. The Owls (0-8) rallied from behind early in the game but weren’t...
Aug 6th
7 tags
Windsor blasts Napa Knights, 18-0
]]> Top: John Harmyk throws a fastball by Napa’s Trevor Fox in the ninth inning on a chilly Thursday night at Golis Park in Rohnert Park. Bottom: Windsor’s Justin Kuhn is congratulated by his teammates after scoring one of the Wonders’ 18 runs, in the eighth inning. Photos by Matt Hanlon By Matt Hanlon Wine Country Baseball.com Less than a week after the Wonders played...
Aug 5th
7 tags
Piratas steal win in bottom of the ninth
By Matt Hanlon Wine Country Baseball.com It was a dangerous situation the Sonoma Crushers thought they were out of. With two outs and runners on first and third in a tie game in the bottom of the ninth, pitcher Mike Simpson nearly picked off a sleeping Nolan Pearson with a surprise snap throw over to first. A pitch later, Simpson tried again, hoping to catch Pearson off guard. But this time, it...
Aug 4th
1 note
July 2010
11 posts
5 tags
Apples in playoff race after comeback win
With runners on first and second, Sebastopol’s Alex Bell (not pictured) strikes out Tony Oliverias for the final out of the game. Photo by Matt Hanlon By Matt Hanlon Wine Country Baseball.com Sebastopol began the week with fleeting hopes of a season. But after back-to-back wins, the Apples’ record is two games above .500 and their playoff hopes are nearing fruition. The most recent win was...
Jul 31st
Santa Rosa quiets Angels’ bats
By Matt Hanlon Wine Country Baseball.com Just a few days after a disappointing loss that scarred the once perfect Santa Rosa Giants record, the team returned to true form once again. Santa Rosa’s combined pitching staff of Casey Hillman, Luis Matamoros and Greg Pease combined kept the St. Helena’s bats quiet, holding the Angels (5-3) to just one run and four hits in the Giants’ 6-1 victory...
Jul 31st
Makeshift Dragons hold off Yountville
Nik Gutierrez charges home on a single by Martin Macias. He was tagged out on the play. Photo by Matt Hanlon By Matt Hanlon Wine Country Baseball.com After an 8-5 loss to Sebastopol the night before, there was a little sense of desperation when the Dragons went down 2-0 to Yountville in the third inning. But plagued with missing starters and players playing different positions, it just took a...
Jul 31st
5 tags
Jul 14th
Jul 14th
Jul 14th
“It feels great. They worked hard in practice this week and we had some...”
– Yountville coach Mich Hamilton, on his team’s first win of the season
Jul 10th
Jul 8th
Jul 8th
5 tags
Crushers win pitcher’s duel, 5-4
By Matt Hanlon Wine Country Baseball.com It was a test of strength. With the game starters combining for well over 300 pitches in the game, who would win was only a matter of who could hold off the other team’s offense. In the end, Jesse Hesher emerged with the win, throwing over 150 pitches in eight innings, striking out nine and allowing two earned runs to earn the Sonoma Crushers a 5-4 victory...
Jul 5th
4 tags
Late error costs Napa in loss to Piratas, 3-1
By Matt Hanlon Wine Country Baseball.com Starting pitcher Trevor Fox and the Knights were nearly perfect for seven innings, clinging to a 1-0 lead over Petaluma. But nearly perfect wasn’t good enough, as one costly error was enough to give Petaluma the edge. The Piratas came from behind with a three-run eighth inning to defeat the Napa Knights 3-1 at Napa Valley College on July 2. With two...
Jul 3rd