Varsity Giants Stay Hot in Victory Over Marin Catholic

4/04:  The Giants made the short commute to Kentfield to face off against the Wildcats.  Both teams share a 5-1 record and are tied for second place.  The winner of today’s game would stand alone in second place, just one game behind Drake.

Redwood came into the game riding a five game winning streak and would keep the streak alive with a 4-2 victory over their cross-town rival.  Oliver Pearson gave up just one hit on his way to his fourth victory of the year with Michael Benz closing out the game to earn the save, without yielding a hit.

The Giants drew first blood in the top of the first inning after Dane Goodman led off by reaching on an error and was quickly advanced to second on a single by Josh Cohen.  Nicolas Belgum followed with another single, loading the bases with no outs.  In his season debut, Anthony Pomilia started his Redwood career with a RBI, knocking in Goodman on a ground-out to second.  With two outs, Luke Zlatnich banged a single to left, driving in Cohen and Belgum.  Michael Connors singled up the middle, but a fly out would end the inning with the Giants up 3-0 going into the bottom of the first.  “It was a great way to start the game, Pomilia did his job by hitting the ball to the right side and Luke had that clutch hit with two outs.  It’s always good to get on top early, it takes some of the pressure away”, Head Coach Mike Firenzi said after the game.  In the bottom of the first, with a runner on and two outs, Pascal Brassey stole a hit with his glove, leaping high for a liner that was roped over his head, ending the inning to a chorus of Giants cheers.

The hit parade continued for the Giants in the second inning when Mackie Skall singled to left and Dane Goodman singled to center.  Goodman’s single would be Redwood’s sixth hit in their first ten at-bats of the game.  Skall and Goodman would be the third and fourth runners left on base for the Giants, as the inning ended with the next three batters going down in order.  Pearson answered, sending the Wildcats down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the second taking the game to the third inning with the score Giants 3, Wildcats 0.

The third inning only saw one base-runner, and the Giants again went down in order in the top of the fourth.  MC led off the bottom of the fourth with two consecutive walks, but Pearson would erase the next two batters.  With runners on second and third, MC third baseman Tom Jacobson sent the first pitch he saw to the right center alley scoring both runners.  Michael Benz was called in from the bullpen and after walking the first batter he faced he ended the inning with a strike-out, taking the game to the top of the fifth with the score Giants 3, Wildcats 2.

After two quiet innings at the plate, the Giants bats came alive in the top of the fifth.  Josh Cohen led off the inning with a drag bunt for a single and stole second.  Nicolas Belgum knocked Cohen home with a single to right but was erased on an attempted swipe of second base.  Anthony Pomilia logged his first hit as a Giant with a single to right.  Pomilia would be left on the bases after MC pitcher Jack Harris struck out the next three batters he faced.  In the bottom of the inning the Giants relied on their sturdy defense as the Wildcats went down in order on ground-outs to Brassey, Pomilia and Belgum taking the game to the top of the sixth with the score Giants 4, Wildcats 2.

Both teams went down in order in the sixth and Dane Goodman broke the silence by leading off the top of the seventh with a single to left.  Josh Cohen advanced Goodman into scoring position on a ground-out to the right side, but the Giants half inning would end without scoring a run taking the game to the bottom of the seventh with the score still 4-2.  Benz struck out the first batter he faced in the bottom of the inning.  Anthony Pomilia would have a say in the final two outs of the game, snagging a fly ball and fielding a grounder to end the game.  “I’m most proud of our defense today”, Firenzi said after the game.  “We made the plays we needed to in the field at their yard.”

Pearson earned the win, yielding just two runs on one hit while striking out three.  Benz earned the save, yielding no runs, no hits while striking out three.  Anthony Pomilia, Luke Zlatnich, Michael Connors and Mackie Skall all had hits for the Giants with Dane Goodman, Josh Cohen, and Nicolas Belgum adding two hits each to Redwood’s ten hit assault.  Belgum and Pomilia each knocked in a run with Zlatnich banging in two RBI’s.

Redwood now stands alone in second place with a 6-1 record and will square off against the undefeated Drake Pirates at home.  The game has been moved to Thursday with a 4:00 start due to another storm that is expected to dump several inches of rain in the Bay Area.

 

 

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