High school baseball
The cream is rising to the top in the North Bay League baseball Redwood Division, as the Jaguars made a decisive move with key wins over Piner and Santa Rosa.
At press time Windsor (6-3-1 overall) was in a virtual tie with Piner atop the league standings at 4-1, while Santa Rosa was a game back at 3-2. Rounding out the division were El Molino (0-3) and Healdsburg (0-5).
The Jags will be back on the field in a two-game home set with the Greyhounds on April 11 and 12 (4 p.m.), and host Maria Carrillo in a make-up date on Saturday, April 13 (10 a.m.).
Windsor in win column
There was a sense of relief when the Jaguars ended a 10-day lay-off in their April 1 trip to Piner, sending Cy Soltanizadeh to the hill for just the second time this season. The senior veteran was up to the challenge, blanking the Prospectors in a complete-game, 2 hit, 6 strikeout effort. Windsor pushed across one run in the fourth and two in the fifth en route to a 3-0 victory.
“His command of his fastball was as good as I’ve seen it in the two years I’ve coached him,” Jag’s coach Dave Avila said. “He got ahead of hitters all day with it.”
Pacing the offense were Will Matthews (2 for 3, run), Tyler Hellums (2 for 3, RBI), Joseph Soltanizadeh (2 for 3, 2B, RBI) and Cameron Hayman (1 for 3, run).
The Jaguars played host to Santa Rosa the following day, with Gary Hall taking the ball in another strong pitching start. Hall (7 IP, 4 hits, 2 ERs, 5 Ks) was masterful, as the Jags edged the Panthers, 3-2. Hayman (1 for 3, RBI) laced a run-scoring single in the first, followed by a solo homer from Cy Soltanizadeh (1 for 3, HR, run, RBI) in the fifth to knot the contest at 2-2. The Jags plated the go-ahead run in the sixth when a Nick Landeros bunt was misplayed, scoring Brett Boudrow (2 for 2, run) for an eventual 3-2 victory.
Injury notes
The Jaguars were dealt a blow when senior first-team all-league pitcher Tyler Hellums suffered a broken wrist in the Piner game and will be lost for an undetermined amount of time.
