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.
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.
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.
