4/4/23: The Redwood Varsity Baseball Giants put up a nine-run second inning on Tuesday, coasting to an easy 14-0 victory against the Terra Linda Trojans at home. Twelve different Giants produced a total of 16 hits on the day, with center fielder Gavin Soper leading the way, garnering two extra-base hits, two runs and three RBIs. left fielder Tyler Sofnas also cracked a triple for the typically smallball Giants.
Meanwhile, the Trojans committed three errors, with only one hit to show for the entire game.
Junior Chas Veley got the start for Redwood, pitching five shutout innings, with three strikeouts to just one walk. Veley faced just one batter over the minimum for his five innings of work, and threw only 46 pitches on the day.
Sophomore Matthew Knauer and Senior Ben Resnick(erstwhile catcher, first baseman, designated hitter and now, occasional closer – even after catching 6 innings) both appeared for an inning each of mop-up work.
The Trojans’ only hit came on the first play of the game. Center fielder Jonah Truett topped a dribbler toward third base, where Giant Rex Solle raced in for what would have been a spectacular barehand play. Unfortunately, Solle threw the ball away at first, but it was impossible to tell whether there was any chance of catching Truett. And since Truett didn’t advance on the throw, there was no error at all, and he was credited with a single.
Truett’s luck on the basepaths didn’t last long, however, as Trojan second baseman Si Eon Davis slapped a comebacker to Veley’s glove side. Veley wheeled and delivered to shortstop Danil Wells, who turned a 1-6-3 double play which retired Davis by at least three steps.
The Trojans’ had only two other baserunners during Veley’s run. In the top of the 2nd, pitcher Leon Cervantes topped another dribbler in the same spot as Solle’s play in the first. However, this time, Veley reached the ball first, and was the one to throw it away. Not to be deterred, however, Veley quickly picked off Cervantes, satisfyingly returning the bases to their original unoccupied state.
The Giants put a run on the board in the 1st with two outs, as first baseman Rory Minty’s sharp grounder skipped off of Cervantes’ glove, denying shortstop Nate Combrink any play on the ball. The left-handed Soper then reached out to send a doink double floating over third base, and landing just inside the left field line, scoring Minty. Soper’s triple in the bottom of the 2nd landed in the exact same spot, but this time was on a rope, scoring two runs, and bringing the score to 7-0.
In the interim, the Giants had put up five more runs on a combination of hits by Knauer, Solle, and right fielder Jack Moseley, along with two walks, two wild pitches, an error and a hit batsman. Soper himself then scored on a third wild pitch, to make it 8-0, still with only one out in the inning.
The Giants added two more runs on another hit batsman (Resnick, who was plunked twice in the game), Sofnas’ triple, and more singles by Knauer and Moseley (their second each of the inning). When the dust had cleared, the score stood 10-0 Redwood after two innings.
The final three runs of the game, spread over the remaining innings, came from RBI singles by Resnick and replacement outfielders Jack Corvi and Sam Gersch. Other fresh faces which were nice to see in the later innings included first baseman Harrison Lapic, second baseman Quinn Miller, third baseman Lucas Ghio, and right fielder Wyatt Turkington.
The win brings the Giants to 12-2 on the year (8-1 MCAL), serving as a tuneup before some more challenging opponents later in the week at a 3-day tournament in the East Bay. Redwood kicks off the action in Pleasanton on Thursday at noon, facing the Falcons of Foothill High School. Their schedule on Friday will depend on their Thursday result, and likewise Friday to Saturday.