Davis’ mad dash helps St. Vincent clinch crown

Mustangs’ 3-2 win over Rincon Valley Christian clinches NCL II baseball championship.|

Michael Davis raced home with the eventual winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning as St. Vincent captured the North Central League II baseball title with a 3-2 win over Rincon Valley Christian on Friday.

Davis opened the inning by beating out a single for only the third Mustang hit of the contest. He stole second prior to the game-deciding play at third base with two outs.

Davis got a good break and slid into third ahead of the catcher’s throw on a steal attempt as the ball dribbled past the bag and down the line. The veteran Mustang center fielder took advantage of the misplay and scampered home to make the score 3-2.

“We got a lot of offense out of very little hitting today,” said St. Vincent coach Gary Galloway. “That play at third base happens very often late in the game when defensive players tend to squeeze the ball. I like to have our kids attempt a steal in that situation, and Davis is a very good base runner.”

St. Vincent took advantage of some fundamental baseball by scoring a run in the first inning without benefit of a hit. A walk and a sacrifice, and a ground ball fielder’s choice off the bat of Jack Romano plated the run.

Pitchers for both teams controlled the pace of the game. Ethan Rapoport of St. Vincent and Jacob Hobson of Rincon limited scoring chances, and one-run advantages by the Mustangs were twice countered by the Eagles.

Rapoport gave up six hits, but he cleverly picked off base runners in both the first and sixth frames to limit the damage. His pickoff in the sixth kept the potential go-ahead run off the bases.

Hobson had a strong effort from the beginning by pounding the strike zone to the tune of seven strikeouts and only three Mustang base hits.

A run-scoring triple by Josiah Artistizadel of the visiting Eagles in the top of the sixth knotted the game at 2-2 heading into the crucial bottom half. Davis took over with his heroics on the bases, and St. Vincent claimed its 10th victory in succession.

Rapoport began to get his pitches up in the strike zone in the late going, and he was replaced by freshman Gio Antonini in the final frame. Antonini breezed through the seventh, not allowing a base runner, and he was credited with the save.

“Ethan had reached the 102-pitch mark, and I don’t like to pull pitchers suddenly in the game from their regular positions, so it was a good time to use Gio,” explained Galloway. “That is as hard as I have seen him throw all season. It’s hard to come into a pressure situation like that, but he was up to it.”

Rapoport earned his seventh victory of the season, and the Mustangs improved to 9-0 in the NCL II. It was their eighth consecutive league crown.

Rincon Valley had six hits, all by different batters in the lineup. Corey Olson doubled and scored a run in the second inning.

Clearing the way

St. Vincent cleared the way for its showdown with RVC by handling rival Tomales, 10-3, in a game played in Tomales. The Mustangs built a 7-1 lead through three innings and were never challenged.

Jack Romano threw six strong innings for the Mustangs, allowing just three hits. He walked two and struck out 12. Antonini finished up, allowing a run in the seventh, but no hits, while walking one and striking out one.

Davis and Romano each had three hits and each scored two runs, with Romano driving in two. Reno Nalducci and Antonini each had two hits.

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