Horsehiders ready for SCL openers

Analy, El Mo open league schedule on March 29
The intensity will ratchet up this week for high school baseball teams, as the Lions and Tigers get set to open the Sonoma County League baseball campaign on Tuesday, March 29.  
Both teams will start the SCL schedule on the road, with the Lions (3-3) traveling to Arnold Field in Sonoma to take on the Dragons in a 7 p.m. tilt, while the Tigers (5-3) visit Elsie Allen in Santa Rosa in a 4 p.m. start.
Both varsity teams resumed pre-league action last week, as El Mo combined an 11-3 loss at Middletown with a 7-2 win over Willits and the Tigers notched a pair of home wins over Miramonte (5-4) and Eureka (3-2, 8 innings).
At press time Analy was playing in the Rancho Cucamonga Tournament on March 21-23), recording a 7-2 win over Pioneer but falling to the tourney host, 6-3 (no stats reported).   
Tigers rounding into form   
Veteran hurler Ryan Calderon got the start in the March 15 clash with visiting Miramonte, firing five innings of six-hit ball, allowing two earned runs while fanning two before handing the ball to relievers Mason Snodgrass (WP, 1 IP, 2 hits, 1 run, 1 BB) and Devon Ogston (1 IP, 1 BB, 2 Ks).
Trailing 4-0 in the sixth, the Tigers exploded for five runs in a wild rally that would lift them to an unlikely 5-4 win. Top hitters included Keaton Bates (2 for 3, 2B, run, RBI), Carter Merlaud (1 for 3, run, RBI) and Todd Noonan (1 for 1, 2B, run, 2 RBIs).
Analy was locked in a tight battle with Eureka on March 17, with starter Evan Peelen (5.2 IP, 1 hit, 2 ERs, 5 BBs, 3 Ks) taking a 2-0 lead into the sixth inning before running into trouble. The Loggers rallied for two runs in the frame to send it into extra innings knotted at 2-2.  The Tigers would push across the winning run in the eighth inning to pull out a 3-2 win.  
Ogston (2.1 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 1 BB, 4 Ks) earned the win in relief, while leading hitters were Todd Noonan (1 for 2), Merlaud (1 for 3, run), David Codoni (1 for 3), Spencer Vogel (1 for 1), Ogston (1 for 3, run), Nolan Alvarez (1 for 3, RBI) and Johnny Gomes (2 RBIs).  
–
It’s been baptism by fire for a relatively young Lions varsity line-up this year, which includes two freshmen playing prominent roles. One bad inning was the culprit in a March 17 11-3 loss at Middletown, with the Mustangs scoring seven runs in the fourth inning to bust it open. Pitcher Kyle Kaasch (3.2 IP, 4 hits, 5 ERs, 3 BBs, 3 Ks) took the loss, while other hurlers included Austin Sani (2 IP, 3 hits, 1 ER, 1 BB), Austin Cassidy (.2 IP, 3 hits, 3 ERs) and Johny Barber (1 ER).
Pacing the bat attack were Nathan Junge (1 for 2, run) and freshmen Sam Wilson (1 for 4, 2 RBIs) and Jordan Hamner (1 for 3, run).
The Lions were back in the win column the following day against visiting Willits, setting the tone with a two-run rally in the first and never trailing en route to a 7-2 win.
Senior Ian Siegert (4 IP, 3 hits, 1 ER, 2 Ks) notched the win, while Jake Peter (3 IP, 0 ERs, 3 Ks) also pitched well for El Molino. Top hitters were Justin Schaap (3 for 4, 2 runs), Sam Wilson (1 for 3, RBI), Peter (1 for 1, 2B) and Hamner (1 for 3, run, RBI).