The softball team turned up for Tuesday’s game against Piner about the same time the rains began to fall, so the meeting of the NCS Redwood teams was postponed to a later date. The Greyhounds were hoping for an upset to reverse their four-game losing streak—the last time they won a game was against Willits, 13-3, on March 9.
Since then the fall of the ball has not gone their way, with successive losses to Sonoma Valley, Analy, Montgomery and St. Vincent de Paul. Their record dropped to 3-5 overall, 0-2 in the league, and a positive shift in the wind would be welcome.
The team’s roster is full of proven prep athletes, such as Claire Berry, Izzy Osborn, Ashley Jenkins and returning pitcher Mia Halvorsen, still only a sophomore. Their numbers show their experience: Osborn leads the team with a .417 batting average and ranks second in on-base percentage (.517) behind Halvorsen, and Berry has the team’s only home run.
Halvorsen has struggled a bit, giving up 16 runs to Analy, 15 to Montgomery and 17 to St. Vincent, but in one sense that’s how softball scores often run, given the smaller diamond size. Regardless, she finds some relief from Lily Farrer, also a sophomore, who has proven skills on the mound, But so far her more valuable role is at the plate: She leads the team with stolen bases (7-for-7 attempts) and runs scored.
The team is deep in the first round of games against their Redwood division rivals, all of whom they’ll meet again later in April and early May. Barring a rescheduled Piner game this weekend, their next game will take place in Santa Rosa on Thursday, and their next home game on Friday against Terra Linda.
Baseball
The Healdsburg Hounds are putting in a good season at Rec Park and on the road this year. They’ve amassed an 8-3 season so far, 2-1 for a second place tie in the Redwood. Along the way their bats have generated some big-score wins—back-to-back 17-1 wins over Sonoma Academy and Lick-Wilmerding last week, and a 12-2 schooling over St. Vincent on March 27.
That game climaxed with a six-run top of the sixth as the Hounds kept getting on base and working their way around, just like coach Mark Domenichelli teaches them.
Slugger Isaiah Robles has some competition this year from sophomore Isaac Bermejo whose numbers are getting better as he sees more action. Hayden Mariani continues to be an all-around threat at the plate and on the bases, and tested veterans Alex Mauro-Manos (4-1) and Henry Smith (2-1) lead the pitchers’ stats. Also on the board are Noah Wong and Anthony Espinosa with a win each.
The coming week will see home games against Santa Rosa (Wednesday, too late for press time), Piner on Friday and Montgomery next Wednesday, April 8.
