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 the Sebastopol Apples on Saturday at Cardinal Newman High School.

Windsor saw a strong start from Jon Martinez who pitched eight scoreless innings for the Wonders, striking out six and allowing six hits. Martinez saw plenty of help from his defense.

“I had a great defense behind me,” he said, after the game. “And I needed to get those first pitch strikes. Granted I had a couple 2 out walks but I battled through it. But the defense was definitely key.”

The Wonders (10-4) scored two runs in the fourth on a double by Kevin Cramer. Cramer scored on an RBI grounder by Derek Ferrell later in the inning.

Ferrell brought home two more runs in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Ferrell and an RBI groundout by Riley Sullivan. Ferrell had another RBI double in the sixth and finished with 3 RBIs.

Alex Bell started for Sebastopol (6-7-1)and allowed four earned runs in eight innings on five hits while striking out eight and walking five.

Matt Raichart was 2-for-4 for the Apples, and Thomas Alva was 2-for-3.

Dominic Coca strides home to score a run in the fourth inning. Photos by Matt Hanlon

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 caved beneath a four-run deficit, but not anymore.

Healdsburgh slugged its way back into the game with four-run third and fourth innings in a 13-10 win over Sebastopol at Cardinal Newman High School on Saturday.

The Owls scored first, after Matt Archer reached on an error and then scored on Justin Herrguth’s double later in the first inning. The Apples (7-6-1) answered with five runs on four hits in the bottom half of the inning, including a solo shot over the left field fence by Tom Harris, putting Healdsburgh in a hole.

But the Owls (4-10) didn’t stay down for long. They took the lead in the third inning, and never relinquished it.

“We hit well today,” said second baseman Manny Delao, who was 3-for-6 on the day. (Josh) Cimino threw a good game. He settled down after the first inning. He pitched better than the score.”

Cimino settled down indeed, throwing nine innings and 170 pitches to earn the win. He allowed ten runs on 16 hits, but the effort was enough.

The Owls combined for 19 hits including four off the bat of Herrguth and three off bat of Tyer Ketteman. Both players finished with three RBIs.

The Apples had plenty of offense as well. Harris finished with two home runs and three hits while Thomas Alva and Mario Ausiello had three hits nd a combined three RBIs.

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 the ninth inning, Sebastopol poured on the hurt.

Then again, it didn’t help that Sonoma’s offense was kept off the board.

The Apples had six hits and four runs in the top of the ninth to top off an impressive performance as they cruised to an 8-0 victory over the Sonoma Crushers Saturday at Cardinal Newman High School in Santa Rosa.

Cameron Ross was the man behind the win, pitching eight scoreless innings and allowing only three hits and two walks. Ross threw 114 pitches and struck out nine in the performance.

Jason Porter came on to pitch the ninth, earning the save. He allowed two hits but kept Sonoma (4-6) off the board to preserve combined shutout.

Mitch Tucker led Sebastopol’s offense with a pair of doubles, two RBIs and a run scored, finishing 3-for-4. Matt Raichart, David Raichart and Trooper Marcellino each finished with two hits, and an RBI.

The Apples (6-3) got their first run on the board in the second inning, off a single by Raichart that brought home Marcellino. They scored one run in the fifth, another in the seventh and once more in the eighth before the big rally in the ninth.

Jesse Asher was branded with the loss for Sonoma. He kept his team within striking distance though, allowing four runs on eight hits through 7 1/3 innings.