Healdsburg’s Carter Cyphers (5) almost, but not quite, beats the throw to first
Photos by Michael Lucid CLOSE BUT OUT Healdsburg’s Carter Cyphers (5) almost, but not quite, beats the throw to first in the John Swett game on March 21.

The crickets were chirping in backyards throughout Healdsburg last weekend as spring finally arrived with a burst of warm weather, sunshine and pollen. Not to be overlooked were the crack of the bat and the roar of the crowd as baseball returned to Art McCaffrey Field at Rec Park, home of the Greyhounds—and later this year, the Prune Packers.

The town’s independent league was featured in a recent podcast from Michelle Marques of KRCB, whose program “The 707” is heard weekly on the radio station. The Prune Packers episode aired March 14, and in addition to conversation with players and guest home hosts, it included a rhapsodic description of Rec Park by the team’s general manager, Joey Gomes.

Baseball at sundown
SUNDOWN A Lincoln batter takes a swing late in the Aug. 2 game at Rec Park. Healdsburg won, 13-2, for the league championship. (Photos by Christian Kallen)

He described going to a game, or playing in one, as taking a trip back in time, saying: “American baseball stadiums in the 20th century through the 1950s, before they modernized, were predominantly made of wood. The Sonoma County sky, the twilight cotton candy sky, the pinks and the blues … . When you hear the pop of the glove or the crack of the bat from the wood, it just echoes.”

Home of the Hounds 

Those nostalgic sunset games will happen often during the next couple of months for the Greyhounds before the Prune Packers take over Rec Park in June. Until then, baseball fans know they can always find a good game from Healdsburg High’s Greyhounds, both varsity and JV, who play at Rec Park into May.

Last weekend, the Swett High Warriors from Crockett came to town, and for most of the game held on to a narrow lead. But the Greyhounds came alive in the bottom of the sixth inning to score three runs, just enough to fend off a seventh inning Swett rally. The Hounds got the 5-4 win, on the strength of nine stolen bases but only one RBI single, from Carter Cyphers.

Noah Wong starts
GUEST STARTER Sophomore Noah Wong was given a chance to pitch on March 21, and he kept the lid on Swett for four innings.

Starting pitcher for the Hounds was Noah Wong, a sophomore. “With all the injuries and players on vacation Noah had to come up and pitch. He did an outstanding job and he gave us a chance,” said coach Mark Domenichelli. Wong gave up five hits over four innings, and a single earned run.

In relief, Anthony Espinoza and Henry Smith pitched the last three innings, with Espinoza getting the win. 

Luck took the day off on Saturday, when the 5-2 Piedmont Highlanders played the Greyhounds. Piedmont picked away at Greyhound starter Alex Mauro-Manos and relievers Henry Smith and Nova Perrill, scoring a single run in four separate innings. The home team could only score once, when Xander Harms came home on a hit by Perrill. The final score was 4-1.

That left the Greyhounds with a respectable 5-2 pre-season record as the North Bay – Redwood league season is set to begin on Wednesday this week in a road game against Analy (2-5);  results too late for press time. The March 14 game against Montgomery, which was to have launched the season, was delayed until this coming Saturday at Rec Park.

In between those two games is the Friday, March 29, match against the Mustangs of St. Vincent, a team that has struggled a bit to reach its current 2-5 record. First pitch is 6pm at Rec Park, where a baseball game is still like a trip back in time.

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Christian Kallen has called Healdsburg home for over 30 years. A former travel writer and web producer, he has worked with Microsoft, Yahoo, MSNBC and other media companies. He started reporting locally in 2008, moving from Patch to the Sonoma Index-Tribune to the Kenwood Press before joining the Healdsburg Tribune in 2022.

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