Davainis makes early Trojan lead hold up in win over Casa Grande

Petaluma firmed up its grip on first place in the Vine Valley Athletic League baseball race with a 4-2 win over contending Casa Grande on Saturday afternoon in front of a full house on the Gaucho campus.

The Trojans rushed to an early three-run lead in the first inning, and turned the game over to pitcher Aaron Davainis who was masterful in going the distance for his sixth win of the season. Davainis, the league's top pitcher, struck out 11 Casa hitters with a very accurate heater that produced many late swings.

In seven frames Davainis tossed 72 strikes, and kept everything close to the zone until brushing pitching opponent Chris Tobin with an inside delivery in the bottom of the fourth inning. Other than that stray pitch, everything that the imposing junior threw was near the zone with extra gas.

The Trojans excited a big contingent of Petaluma supporters by jumping ahead in their first offensive series. A walk to Dante Vachini and a solid single to left by Joe Brown set the table, and they both scored on a double by Conner Fegan. A single by David Wood, and an infield miscue plated the third run.

In the meantime, Davainis locked up the Gaucho lineup with a series of accurate fastballs, mostly in the top part of the zone. As the game progressed, Casa attempted to bring players into the game late to get faster cuts, but nothing worked until the sixth inning.

By that time, the hosts were trailing 4-0, but they began to make some noise when sophomore Kalen Clemmens beat out a high throw to first base. With one out, Brice Cox singled, sending a Gaucho runner to third base for the second time in the game.

This time, Casa pinch hitter Kaden Ramirez got solid contact and drove the ball between Trojan outfielders for a two-run double. The rally was short lived when Ramirez was thrown out at third base on a perfect relay.

The win was the seventh in a row for the streaking Trojans (12-5, 8-0) as they head to the final games in the league schedule with a full three-game lead on second place Vintage. The outcome was the second narrow win over their cross-town foes this season. The two clubs might meet again in the VVAL post season tourney, but the games will have no bearing on the standings.

Brown continued to slam the ball with authority for the Trojans with a couple of singles and a ringing double in the fifth inning. The second hit produced an RBI in the second inning for Petaluma. The senior slugger carried a batting average of .405 going into the game.

After an uneven first inning, Casa starter Tobin settled in to toss five strong innings of baseball followed by Russel Freedheim who shut out the Trojans for the final two innings.

The Casa staff worked diligently to get the rain-soaked field ready for a 3 o’clock start, and their efforts paid off in a crowd-pleasing game between two of the best in the VVAL.

JUNIOR VARSITY

In a game played Friday at Petaluma, Casa Grande’s junior varsity held off Petaluma 2-0.

Casa Grande scored in the first inning on a single by Jack Hu and Jeffrey Rice made it stand good, allowing just two hits over seven innings, striking out five.

Petaluma’s Anthony Del Prete allowed only five hits to Casa, striking out five.

Jasper Jennings and Colin Demers each had a hit for Petaluma. Giovanni Burke had two hits for Casa Grande.