Sports

For the first time in Mark Domenichelli’s 16 years as a baseball coach at Healdsburg High, his team has reached the semifinals in the division championship series. That means they’re just one win away from the finals, two from the title.

It took the Healdsburg Prune Packers less than two innings to start sending balls over the Rec Park fence. Center fielder Jonathan Kim of the University of Michigan slammed a high fly over the right field fence with two runners on, and from that point on the power-hitting Prune Packers have made hitting homers part of their game plan.

With the coming of October the school year is well underway, and with it the exploits of the student athletes in the Greyhounds sports programs. Here’s a rundown of some action on our courts, fields and trails...

The June 18 game was as dramatic as it was unexpected for the home team. The previous night, in the teams’ first meeting this year, Healdsburg built a seemingly insurmountable lead of 11-3 at the end of only five innings, and it looked like another one of those Packer blowouts...

One quarter into last Friday's Healdsburg football game against Lower Lake, the word in the press box was that the two teams – then tied, 6-6 – were pretty evenly matched. “It’ll take a mistake or a lucky break for somebody to win,” said a long-time Boosters member. Then the breaks started...

Last Sunday afternoon at Rec Park both fans were treated to the kind of game they like: A tight one that for a while looked like it might be the third loss of the year for the galloping Prune Packers, but in the end proved to be just another number in the win column for the Pack. Plus it had 5 home runs.

The Healdsburg girls tennis team is off to another strong season with several match victories already. Last year’s No. 1 player, Meher Dhiman, is back as a senior in the top slot, followed in order by Amelia Wickersham, Claire Berry and Sana Katsuki.

"Our last event as a team will be a team dinner May 22 at the local Healdsburg Bollywood restaurant," said Stan Bischof. "Since we have many seniors, next year will be a recruiting year. I will host open badminton sessions at Healdsburg High for current and incoming students who are perhaps interested in badminton."

For the Healdsburg cross country running team, the year’s first invitational at Rancho Cotate gave them a chance to prove their status as one of the best teams in the county. On the other hand, only four schools participated: Healdsburg High, Cardinal Newman, Santa Rosa and host Rancho Cotate.

For the seventh time in eight years, young wrestlers traveled to Healdsburg last week to sharpen skills, compare notes and share their enthusiasm for the sport in the Drew Esquivel Memorial Wrestling Camp, held June 12-14 on the Healdsburg High campus.