The Healdsburg varsity baseball team is playing some of their best baseball this year, just as the season nears an end. After splitting a series with Montgomery, the Greyhounds faced off against St. Vincent de Paul then Santa Rosa two games each, sweeping both schools with relative ease.
St. Vincent has yet to see a win this season, in North Bay-Redwood league play, at any rate, but Santa Rosa had been a second-place contender from the start, just as Healdsburg and Montgomery have. But when the series against the Panthers started out, the Greyhounds let it all hang out.
The first game took place at Rec Park on April 30, with Healdsburg scoring in the first and second innings to take a 4-0 lead. With an innate knowledge of what was to come, they padded the score with a three-run sixth, so Santa Rosa came into their final inning looking at a 7-0 deficit.
But Alex Mauro-Manos only made it into the seventh before fatigue set in and the Panthers began getting on base. Eric Nielsen came on in relief. But between the two of them, they gave up five runs, all of them earned, for a nervous end to the 7-5 game.
Nova Perrill II had quite the game, getting two hits in four at-bats and driving in three runs. Damon Smith got three hits in his four at-bats, including a double, and Haden Mariani also got a pair of singles, using his time on base to steal a couple bases.
Two days later, Mariani had an even better game, leading a hit parade of Greyhounds in a blowout 12-0 win in Santa Rosa. He got on base in four of his five plate appearances with two hits and two walks, two stolen bases, three runs and one triple. The Greyhounds don’t hit a lot of triples, but when they do it’s been Mariani. He’s scoring a team-leading .406 batting average, leading in hits and runs scored as well.
It was the most runs scored by Healdsburg in the season, and everyone contributed. Perrill again got two hits, Robles got a pair of RBIs, and Xander Harms and Henry Smith scored a pair of runs as well.
Pitcher Nielsen started this game and caged the Panthers for six innings, allowing only two hits while striking out six. The senior leads the league in strikeouts over Analy’s vaunted Wes Bush, and his win-loss record at 8-0 with three saves.
The Healdsburg varsity has won nine of their last 11 games and is on a four-game winning streak. This week, they end the Redwood schedule with a pair of games against Piner, whose 4-9 record places them fifth in the six-team league.
Wednesday the game is played at Rec Park with an estimated start time of 7pm, following the junior varsity matchup of the same two schools. Those will be Healdsburg’s final home baseball games of the season. And while the game is too late for press time, it’s sure to be a loud one.
The last game of the league season is at Piner, Friday at 4pm. Playoff schedules will be announced following that date.
