Greyhound hardballers fall to Petaluma, Casa

The Greyhound varsity baseball squad bowed out of the Sonoma
County League pennant race this week with a pair of devastating
losses to Petaluma, 6-3 and Casa Grande, 9-2.
The critical, five-game stretch began with a sweep of Sonoma,
4-3, 6-1 on May 8 and continued with a 1-0 win over Analy on May
10. However those victories seemed like ancient history a few days
later, as Friday and Monday losses to Petaluma and Casa effectively
ended Healdsburg¹s title hopes. At press time, the Hounds were two
games back of the league-leading Gauchos with just one game
remaining.
³It¹s over, as far as the SCL goes,² said a disappointed
Healdsburg skipper Mark Domenichelli after the loss to the Gauchos
on Monday. ³One bad play may have cost us the game today, but we¹ll
just have to move on and get ready for the NCS playoffs.²
Sindle locked horns with Analy fireballer Cameron Cook in
Wednesday¹s win over the visiting Tigers. Healdsburg broke a
scoreless tie in the fourth inning when Corey Harms laced a leadoff
single and came home on an RBI knock from Justin Brandt. Sindle (7
IP, 5, hits, 5Ks, BB) made the lead stand up the rest of the way to
notch the 1-0 win. Pacing the attack for Healdsburg were: Brandt (2
for 2, RBI), Harms (2 for 3, run) and Norm Lausten (1 for 3).
The critical swing through Petaluma began on Friday, as Jorge
Gonzalez climbed the hill opposite Trojan southpaw Josh Horner. The
game unraveled quickly for the Hounds, as Petaluma tallied five
runs in the first inning and coasted to the eventual, 6-3 win. The
loss was the first of the season for Gonzalez after five straight
wins. Lausten led a nine-hit attack with two hits in four trips,
including a double.
Monday¹s game at defending NCS 3A champion Casa Grande started
well enough for the Greyhounds, with Sindle toeing the slab
opposite Gaucho ace Kory Wallace. The Hounds drew first blood in
the top of the third when Jake Miller and Brooks Gerstely got
aboard with a pair of singles. Lausten ripped a two-out RBI knock
to score Miller, and manufactured a run when the Gauchos botched a
double steal attempt. On the designed play, Lausten broke for
second and lasted just long enough in the rundown to allow Gerstley
to steam home for a 2-0 Hounds lead.
The game fell apart in the bottom of the frame when Casa
exploded for seven runs on five hits, highlighted by a two-run
home-run blast from D.J. Gentile for a 7-2 Gaucho lead. The Hounds
committed a pair of critical errors in the inning, including a wild
throw past third base on a sacrifice bunt attempt that opened the
floodgates. Casa went on to plate another pair of insurance runs
late in the contest to post the eventual, 9-2 win. Top hitters for
the Greyhounds were: Lausten (2 for 3, RBI), Gerstley (2 for 3,
run), Miller (2 for 4, run) and Brandt (1 for 3).
JV drop three in league play
The Healdsburg JV squad (2-10, 3-12) fell to Analy, 11-5 (8
innings), Petaluma, 11-1 and Casa Grande (12-3) in three games
played last week. In Wednesday¹s game against Analy, Blake Manning
tossed five strong innings, as the teams ended regulation tied at
five-all. Analy rallied in the eighth inning to post the win.
Leading Hounds¹ hitters were: Andrew Watanabe (2 for 4), Andrew
Baroni (1 for 2) and David Balesteri (1 for 4). The Healdsburg
outfield of Paul Seghesio, Baroni and Balesteri turned in an
outstanding game.