Casa Grande loses a pitching battle to Sonoma Valley 1-0

Sonoma Valley pitcher Brendan Hogan tossed a complete-game shutout as the Dragons edged Casa Grande, 1-0, under the lights at Hap Arnold Field on Friday. Hogan scattered four hits and escaped serious trouble only once as the undefeated Dragons picked up their first Vine Valley Athletic League win of the season.

The tight contest featured a pitchers’ duel between the 6-foot, 5-inch Hogan and Koby Krnaich of the Gauchos for 4½ innings before either one buckled a bit.

Krnaich matched the Dragon hurler every pitch until the bottom of the fifth, when he gave up two base runners on a hit batter and a walk. With the game in the balance, Gaucho coach Chad Fillinger brought in reliever Jake McCoy to get out of the mini-jam.

McCoy did his job by retiring three Dragons in the frame, but along the way, the home club managed the only run of the game without benefit of a base hit.

Max Hendron of the Dragons dropped a fly ball into right field for what might have been a normal single, but the base runner had to hold up on the catchable ball. He was gunned down at second base on a fielder’s-choice play, with the lead runner advancing to third base.

Tucker Pierce of Sonoma then drove a fly ball deep enough to right field to plate the only run of the game without a play at the plate.

Casa Grande had a solid opportunity to put a run on the board in the top of the third inning. Nick Orella grounded a ball to the left side and legged it out for a single. He moved to second on a walk issued to Noah Bailey.

With two outs and runners on the corners, a soft fly ball was lifted into right field that had a chance to fall. Dragon right fielder Anthony Tommasi raced in to make a one-handed grab and the Gaucho threat was turned away.

The defensive play of the contest, however, was turned in by Casa Grande in the bottom of the fourth inning. Sonoma had runners at first and third and tried to advance the back runner on a ball in the dirt. Catcher Cole Santander threw a pea to second well ahead of the runner and the quick return throw nailed the Dragon runner at the plate by a wide margin. It was well executed on both ends.

The leading batter in the game was Casa leadoff hitter Bailey. He reached base twice on a walk and a long double over the head of the Sonoma Valley left fielder in the top of the fifth inning.

The league loss was the second in succession for the Gauchos, but there is plenty of schedule left for them to right the ship. Sonoma improves to 6-0 overall with its first Vine Valley win. The Dragons were limited to only three hits in the quickly played contest.