First of two meetings between teams should be hotly contested
The reigning Sonoma County League baseball champion Analy Tigers haven’t skipped a beat since capturing the 2016 crown, pushing their first-place record to 3-0 with an 11-0 shutout win over Healdsburg.
The April 4 clash at Recreation Park was arguably the Tigers’ most complete win of the season to date, combining great pitching and defense with opportunistic hitting to easily dispatch the Greyhounds. The victory improved Analy’s overall record to 9-4.
The Tigers will be back on the field this week with a non-league home clash with visiting Drake High of San Anselmo on April 11 (after press time) and will resume SCL action this Friday, April 14 when they visit El Molino in the first of two scheduled “Apple” games. The first pitch is 4 p.m.
The Lions (8-5, 1-2) are coming off a disappointing 11-1 loss at the hands of Sonoma Valley on April 4 in their lone outing of the week. At the time of this writing, El Mo was preparing to host Petaluma on April 11 before taking on the Tigers on Friday.
Tigers blank Hounds
Analy sent senior hurler Jack Newman in the April 4 night clash in Healdsburg, taking a 1-0 lead before exploding for a combined 10 runs in the fourth and fifth innings to force an early stoppage on the 10-run rule in an 11-0 romp.
Newman (5 IP, 1 hit, 11 Ks) was nearly unhittable in a great outing, while top hitters were Keaton Bates (3 for 4, 2 2Bs, run, 3 RBIs), Andy Noonan (2 for 3, 2 2Bs, 3 RBIs), Newman (1 for 2, 2B, 2 runs, 2 RBIs), Jordan Parks (1 for 3, 2 RBIs), Jeff Pearson (1 for 2, 2B, run) and Carson Pforsich (1 for 3, 2 runs).
Lions fall to Dragons
El Molino ran into some tough pitching in an April 4 tilt at Sonoma Valley, as Dragons ace Carson Snyder effectively throttled the Lions’ bats in an outstanding complete-game effort.
Things started well enough for El Mo, taking a 1-0 lead into the fourth inning. Defensive miscues would be the Lion’s undoing in the final three frames, as five errors helped the Dragons plate a combined 11 runs in the fifth and sixth frames en route to a six-inning, 11-1 victory.
Sophomore pitcher Sam Wilson-Mietz took the loss, while senior Curtis Lewis led the hitting corps with two hits in three trips and an RBI.
On Friday, the Lions played host to visiting Healdsburg under angry skies, with the teams battling to a 3-3 tie before the contest was suspended by rain in the third inning. The game will be resumed at a later date.
