FORESTVILLE — The 2010 varsity baseball season will be
remembered for a lot of things, none of which will include
boredom.
The Sonoma County League was as wild as a runaway rollercoaster
for much of the season, and it often seemed that any team could win
at any time.
That trend continued last week in the second meeting between
West County rivals Analy and El Mo, in a rematch that bore no
resemblance to the first game won 11-4 by the Lions last
month.
This time around, it was the Tigers that would emerge with a 2-1
victory in a 12-inning thriller that lasted nearly three hours.
El Mo hurler Casey Fiddler climbed the hill opposite Analy’s
Kevin Aronis in the clash of senior right-handers, and both would
pitch well until giving way late in the game. The Tigers drew first
blood in the fourth, when Aronis led off with a single, and later
scored on an RBI knock from Jerry Pinola for a 1-0 lead.
Fiddler helped his own cause in the El Mo fifth, muscling up for
the first home run of his varsity career — a solo blast over the
left field wall to knot the game at 1-1. The game was still
deadlocked at one-apiece after eight as Analy’s Kyle Ball and El
Mo’s Paris Selzer assumed mound duties in extra innings.
The game remained tied at 1-1 until the Analy 12th, when Pinola
ripped a single, advanced on a hit by Aaron Houck, and came home on
a fielder’s choice off the bat of Max Gordon. Kyle Ball shut the
Lions down in their final at-bat to end the madness and preserve a
2-1 win.
Aronis (6 IP, 7 hits, 1 ER, 3Ks) got a work-out, while Ball (6
IP, 3 hits, 0 runs, 5 Ks) picked up the win. Fiddler (8 IP, 7
hits, 1 ER, 3 Ks) pitched well in a no-decision, while Selzer (4
IP, 2 hits, 0 ERs) deserved a better fate in taking the loss.
Leading the Analy hitting corps were Pinola (2 for 4, RBI), Ball
(2 for 5), and Isias Alcantar (2 for 5). Top El Mo hitters included
Fiddler (2 for 4, HR, run, RBI), Reece Moore (2 for 5), Ricky
Franceschi (2 for 5), Michael Pierson (1 for 3), Robert Sobranes (1
for 5), Jordan Nordby (1 for 5), and Ben Rhoades (1 for 5).
In other games last week, the Tigers (6-6, 11-11) pulled out a
wild, 11-9 win over Windsor. Isias Alcantar (6 IP, 12 hits, 6 ERs,
K) got the win while brother Eli (1 IP, 1 hit, 1 ER, K) earned the
save. Leading hitters were Ball (2 for 5, 2 2Bs, 6 RBIs), Leland
Bailey (3 for 4, 2 RBIs), Pinola (2 for 3, RBI), and Houck (1 for
3, 2 RBIs).
El Mo finished up a heartbreaking stretch of games on May 14
with a 5-4, 9-inning loss at Casa Grande. The Lions used a strong
start by Selzer (6 IP, 6 hits, 2 ERs, 3 Ks) to take a 3-1 lead into
the bottom of the fifth, but the Gauchos would plate solo runs in
the fifth and sixth to knot the game at 3-3. Both teams pushed
across a run in the seventh to force extra frames, and Casa
manufactured a run in the ninth to pull out a 5-4 win.
Fiddler (1 IP, 2 hits, K) and Pierson (2 IP, 2 hits, 1 ER, K)
tossed the final three innings in relief. Pacing El Mo’s 11-hit
attack were Pierson (3 for 4, run, RBI), Dom Scaremella (2 for 4, 2
runs), Rhoades (2 for 5, 2B, 2 RBIs), Nordby (1 for 4, run), and
Fiddler (1 for 3).
Diamond notes
At press time the fourth-place Tigers were scheduled to take on
first-place Petaluma in the SCL playoff opener on May 18, with the
winner to play either Sonoma or Casa Grande on Thursday, May 20 at
7 p.m. All games are at Arnold Field in Sonoma. The Lions (3-7,
6-15) will await their post-season fate when the NCS committee
meets this Sunday, May 23. Check the NCS website at www.cifncs.org for updated bracket
information.
