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 outs and the bases loaded in the eighth, Nolan Pearson hit what appeared to be an inning ending groundball to second baseman David Heimbigner. But the ball skipped under the glove of Heimbigner, scoring two and giving the Piratas the lead.

Petaluma (3-0) added another run off a wild pitch, but three was more than enough run support for starter Mike Miller who bested Fox’s performance. Miller went the distance, allowing one run on just two hits and two walks, striking out nine.

“These like to battle,” Miller said, of his team. “(Fox) was pitching awesome… All we could do was just battle.”

Napa (1-2) held the lead for most of the game after an RBI double by Matt Brown in the fifth scored Chad Pinguelo.

Despite being branded with the loss, Fox was dominant on the mound, striking out 16 through nine innings.

Petaluma coach Dave Heint admitted that his team got a “lucky break” but acknowledged that Miller’s performance gave his team a chance.

“He’s usually a nine inning guy,” he said.

 Trevor Fox throws a breaking ball for a strike on Thursday, July 1 at Napa Valley College. Fox finished with 16 strikeouts. Photo by Matt Hanlon