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

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 only nine players at the game St. Helena wasn’t able to put up much of a fight to the Wonders, ultimately losing 9-3 in a seven inning game at Cardinal Newman High School. The Angels, who slipped under .500 by a game with the loss, were forced to forfeit the remaining innings after relief pitcher Ryan Payne got hurt fielding an infield single in the bottom of the seventh.

St. Helena (5-6) kept it close but the deal breaker came in the sixth inning. Windsor had back-to-back triples by Johnny Harmyk and Justin Kuhn to score two runs in the inning and then an inside-the-park homerun by Nick Borowicz scored two more.

That was all Windsor (8-3) would need for the victory.

Stuart Alexander was perfect threw three innings without allowing a base runner, and pitched five innings with two runs allowed on three hits and a pair of walks, striking out eight. Johnny Harmyk and Kyle Thomas each threw an inning plus.

The win was a big one for the Wonders who had two consecutive losses last week.

“We definitely are back on the right track,” Alexander said. “The playoff picture is looking good for us. I don’t know if we’re in for sure yet but I think we’re pretty much in. We’re just going to keep going out there and doing our thing.”

The Angels were not without opportunity in the loss. Trailing 9-2, they loaded the bases in the seventh but only scored one run, when Kory Langwell walked on four pitches to score Ryan Payne. The only other earned run for St. Helena came in the fifth inning when John Ahlers scored on a single by John Hays.

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 of a turnaround win over Napa.

But the Knights had other ideas. Windsor made a few costly misakes, and Napa capitalized.

With a narrow 5-4 lead over the Wonders in the fifth inning, the Knights scored two insurance runs on a pair of singles and a couple of wild pitches. That inning would be the difference as Knights were able to hold off the Wonders in the final innings of a hard-fought 7-5 victory on Saturday morning at CNHS.

Trevor Fox, who came on in relief of starter Jason Zudell in the fourth inning, earned pitched six solid innings to earn the win. Fox was kryptonite to the Wonders’ bats, allowing only one run, and three hits while striking out 14 of the 25 batters he faced.

Ricky Del Zombo was 2-4 with two triples and three RBIs while Robbie Steen, David Heimbigner and Chris Heimbigner all had two-hit games for Napa.

Windsor (7-3) scored in the first inning after Nick Borowicz and Derek Farrell drew back-to-back, leadoff walks. Three batters later, Ben Monticello drove them in with the first of his singles.

The Knights (4-6) countered quickly, scoring two runs in the bottom half of the first. Del Zombo drove home Kagen Davis with a triple to right field and scored on the next pitch, when Matt Brown drove a double into left field.

Napa scored again in the third inning to take the lead. Farrell scored on an error and Kevin Cramer crossed the plate on a groundout by Kyle Thomas.

Steen walked for Windsor in the bottom of the third to start off a one-out rally that would eventually retie the game. Steen advanced to third on an error that helped Davis reach first and then both scored on another Zombo triple, this time to left field.

The Wonders took the lead in the fourth when Jason Zudell singled and then stole second and third. Zudell came home on an error by the pitcher in a pickoff attempt.

Unfortunately for the Wonders, batting practice didn’t seem to help them all too much thanks to Fox’s commanding performance.

Ben Monticello, who drove home three RBIs and finished 2-for-4 and Cramer who scored two runs, and batted 2-for-3 were the main suppliers of offense. Farrell, who had a double for the only other Windsor hit, was left stranded on third in the eighth inning.

 Napa’s Wayne Wirt flies out to right field in the eighth inning of Saturday’s game.

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) staved off the Windsor Wonders in a shaky, time constrained, eight-inning 10-9 win on Wednesday night in Sonoma.

Both teams entered the game with plenty to prove. Windsor was riding a seven game winning streak and Petaluma who barely beat Sonoma last week after a disappointing loss to Oakville two weeks before.

The win was a big boost for the Piratas who face the league leading Santa Rosa Giants on Saturday at Cardinal Newman High School.

“We knew this was a big week,” said Piratas’ manager Nate Wall. “We wanted to get at least get one win, to split. Now we’re going for two.”

Petaluma’s Jaymes Manos got the win with a short start. He threw 3 2/3 innings but was forced out of the game after he experienced pain in his elbow.

Sammy Bruno was one of the key components of a Piratas’ offense that showered 11 hits through eight innings. Bruno finished 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles and scored three runs.

TJ Drotleff and Vince Ambroselli also contributed, both went 2-for-4, Drotleff with a pair of RBIs and Ambroselli with one run batted in.

For the Wonders (8-2), Victor Hernandez swung the potent bat as he went 3-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored. The Wonders also saw big days from Nick Borowicz who was 2-for-5 and Riley Sullivan, who drove two runs home with a long double in the first inning.

The Wonders, who started off the season with an 11-9 hiccup of a loss against Sebastopol had since been unbeaten. That is, until Wednesday night.

Despite the loss the Wonders remain in second place in the league with a half game lead over the Piratas. The Giants remain in first, their only loss on the season coming against Windsor.

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 spoilers in a 4-2 win over the undefeated Santa Rosa Giants, the offensive vengeance continued.

The Wonders (7-1) unleashed an onslaught of offense in a merciless 18-0 win over the Napa Knights at Golis Park on Thursday night.

Windsor had help from all across the lineup in the win. Riley Sullivan was 4-for-6 with four RBIs, Kevin Cramer was 4-for-5 with a double and three RBIs and Justin Kuhn finished 2-for-2 with a double and three RBIs of his own.

The game was a long one for the Knights (2-6). The little solace they earned was in the form of Matt Brown who went 2-for-3 with a double and David Heimbigner who had a pair of singles in five at bats.

With the Thursday night’s win, the Wonders held their spot in second place, a game ahead of the Petaluma Piratas.