Tyler Peck pitched his 9th complete game and 3rd shut out for his 11th win of the season in the first round of the NCS Playoffs against Northgate today at Moody Field. Peck struck out 6 while only walking 1, and held the Broncos to just 2 hits. He was perfect through 3 innings, sending the Broncos down in order his 1st time through their line-up.  The Giants defense tallied the other 15 outs while committing just one error, a huge improvement from their match-up earlier in the year.

Devon Pence led off the bottom of the 1st with a solid single and promptly stole 2nd. Riley Overend took a curveball off the shoulder, setting the table for the hot hitting Parker Laret. Laret hit a shot up the middle, but the shortstop fielded the grounder and turned the double play, leaving Pence on 3rd with 2 outs. Broncos Junior pitcher Devin Murtha then induced a strike out, dousing the hopes of an early Giants rally. The Junior was efficient, needing only 57 pitches to tally 18 outs. However, an errant pick-off attempt would be the game changing moment and lead to the only run that the Giants would need to win the game. Adam Hussain singled to center with 1 out in the bottom of the 2nd. Murtha attempted to pick him off, but the throw went down the right field line and Hussain hustled to 3rd. Zach Cohen then dropped a safety squeeze scoring Hussain. Broncos-0, Giants-1.

Besides Pence and Hussain, Eric Doctor, Parker Laret, Riley Overend and Aaron Dorfler had hits for Redwood.  The Giants have won their last 5 games by 1 run.  But whether you win by 1 run or 16 like they did 6 games ago, a win is a win and that is all they need to do to continue to advance to the NCS Championship on June 5th or 6th.

The Giants now face the #9 seed, the Arroyo Dons from San Lorenzo who boast a 20-6 season record and won the tough Alameda County Baseball League (ACBL) with a 14-2 league record.  With 6 Seniors in their starting line-up, they are led by Senior Martin Fischer who possesses a .408 batting average, with 6 doubles, a triple, a homer and 16 RBI’s.  Their pitching staff is anchored by Senior Ricky Peterson who has 7 wins, 2 saves and threw 49 pitches while giving up 0 runs in their 1st round win against Petaluma on 5/26 in his 3 and 1/3 innings of work.  Show up early if you want a seat for your $9 admission at Moody Field at 4pm on Friday as seating is limited and we expect a huge Friday afternoon crowd.