Red-hot Windsor slips by Petaluma

Windsor’s hot start to the 2022 high school baseball season continued on Wednesday with an impressive road win.

The Jaguars went up early and saw their lead disappear but rallied for a 6-4 win at Petaluma in a nonleague matchup between two teams expected to be among the best in the county this year.

Windsor, which is now 5-1 in the early going, led 4-1 after the first inning but saw the Trojans (2-2) rally to tie the game in the fifth. But the Jaguars responded in kind, scoring two runs in the top of the sixth to pull away for the win.

“Got up early — coaching third, you hear them in the dugout, they never let up, never gave in,” said Windsor head coach Dave Avila. “There was no scaring them at all, which is good to play a team like that.”

The 5-1 start is one of Windsor’s best in recent years. So far, it has wins over Napa (7-0), West County (11-4), Las Lomas (7-6), American Canyon (14-5) and now Petaluma, a program that hasn’t won fewer than 13 games in any season over the last decade.

“They’re one of those teams that’s always up there,” Avila said. “They’re a good measuring stick for us.”

Brayden Colletto delivered the big hit in the four-run first, hitting a towering three-run home run over the left field fence.

“I always go up to the plate relaxed, try to hit the ball hard,” said Colletto, who went 2 for 3 with three RBIs. “It was a fastball, saw it right out of his hand and just took a good swing at it.”

Petaluma answered with a run in the bottom of the frame, orchestrated entirely by Cal signee Joe Brown. After reaching on a one-out single, he forced an errant throw on a steal attempt of third and scored easily to make it 4-1.

From there, the starters from both teams settled into grooves. Windsor’s Carson Dillon was lights out through the middle innings but started to surrender some loud outs as the game wore on. Aaron Davainis made it 4-2 with a solo home run in the fourth. Then, in the fifth, Brown and Wyatt Davis, a Fresno State commit, had back-to-back doubles that tied the game at 4.

In the meantime, Petaluma starter Jack Palmer had been nearly unhittable. After the shaky first, he retired 13 straight batters until Colletto singled with one out in the sixth.

“I tip my hat to their kid,” Avila said. “He threw great, after being down 4-0 and to battle like that, he kept his poise the whole game. A lot of respect to him.”

Colletto’s single ultimately proved costly for Petaluma, as it was the beginning of Windsor’s game-winning rally. Two batters later, Windsor had the bases loaded and brought in the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly from pinch-hitter Seth England. Tyler Nordyke, who had a team-high three hits, gave the Jaguars some insurance with an RBI single a batter later.

With a two-run advantage, Brett Neidlinger closed things out with an uneventful seventh inning to earn the win. Neidlinger allowed one hit and struck out one over his two innings of work in relief of Dillon, who went five innings with seven hits, three earned runs, two walks and two strikeouts.

Palmer went six innings with nine hits, four earned runs and two walks.

“That’s the first time I’ve seen him have a rocky inning,” said Petaluma first-year head coach Scott Osder. “Certainly, the first inning was rocky but he settled down. He wouldn’t let me take him out until the end there — his pitch count got up.”

Brown led Petaluma offensively with a pair of hits, including a double, and scored twice.

The Trojans will look to bounce back when they host Rodriguez-Fairfield on Saturday. Windsor has another tough test on Saturday when it’s set to host Tamalpais in its final tuneup before the A.L. Rabinovitz Memorial Tournament at Montgomery early next week.

You can reach Staff Writer Gus Morris at 707-304-9372 or gus.morris@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @JustGusPD.