Windsor hat-trick pushes overall record to 14-5
The strength of any high school baseball team usually lies in the leadership qualities of its senior athletes.
That has definitely been the case for the Jaguars this spring, with their core of 13 seniors infusing the team with experience and production both on the field and in the dugout.
The Jags continued their remarkable run with recent non-league wins over Petaluma (3-1), Napa (9-3) and Santa Rosa (5-3) to extend their season record to 14-5 and 6-4 in their first year competing in the tough NBL Oak Division.
After defeating Petaluma on Saturday, Windsor honored senior veterans Carson Ramocinski, Matt Kemper, Trent Matthews, Josh Delatorre, Gary Hall, Connor Nielsen, Gianni Domenichelli, Sergio Gonzalez-Ceja, Josh Henderson, Kyle Stewart, FJ Freenor, Anthony Guzman and Caden Towery.
“What a way to send out one of the winningest classes in the history of the Windsor baseball program,” Jag’s coach Dave Avila said later. “On a day we honored our senior class, I started an all senior lineup.”
Windsor takes three
The Jaguars took the field against Petaluma looking to close out a perfect week, sending senior ace Matt Kemper to the hill. The Windsor veteran responded with one of his best outings of the season, firing six innings of three-hit ball, yielding no earned runs while fanning five in a 3-1 victory. Senior Gary Hall struck out two of the three batters he faced in a perfect inning of relief to earn the save.
The Jags tallied all three of their runs in the third inning, highlighted by an RBI double off the bat of Matthews on a well-executed hit and run play to drive in Ramocinski. Delatorre, who collected two hits on the day, banged a run scoring single in the inning.
“All season our pitching has led this team,” Avila noted. “Matt (Kemper) became a true pitcher in front of our eyes this year. He got mentally tougher, and dealt with in-game adversity better than I’ve ever seen him.”
In other games last week, the Jags traveled to Napa for a May 27 tilt, replacing a pair of scheduled games with Ukiah that were canceled due to a positive COVID test for the Wildcats.
The Jaguars didn’t skip a beat, pounding out 12 hits en route to a 9-3 win. Hall (3 IP, 1 hit, 5 Ks) earned the victory, while other pitchers included Kemper (1 IP, K) and Freenor (3 IP, 2 hits, 2 ERs, 2 Ks). Leading the Windsor hit parade were Ramocinski (3 for 4, 2B, run, 4 RBIs), Matthews (2 for 3, 2B, run), Brett Neidlinger (2 for 3, run), Jo Jo Soltanizadeh (2 for 4, run, 2 RBIs), Damian Escarcega (1 for 1), Hall (1 for 4, 2B, RBI) and Stewart (1 for 1).
At press time Windsor had just one game left to play — a June 1 date at Ukiah.
“For us to be in a chance to finish in second place in the NBL Oak Division with one game left, I’d be lying if I told you I was surprised,” Avila said. “I had great confidence in this year’s team, and as the season went on the team grew more and more confident in itself.”
