Napa 9, Fair Oaks 7 (League: 0-0, Overall: 1-2) - May 30 @ William Land Park, Sacramento, Calif. - After leading the entire game, Fair Oaks Post 383 came within one out of taking down the Napa Riverdogs 7-4 at William Land Park.

    But a five run seventh inning by Napa turned the potential victory into a crushing loss as a two-out grand slam home run lifted Napa past the Oaks 9-7 in the District 6 Memorial Day American Legion Tournament.

    The Oaks took a 2-0 lead in the opening inning as second baseman Jimmy Basinger led off with a walk. Catcher Mike Nantze followed with a hit to left field. Shortstop Alec Strain bunted the pair over and then a double off the tip of the left fielder's glove by first baseman Ryan Hall scored Basinger to give the Oaks a 1-0 lead. A ground ball by designated hitter Shane Rae brought in Strain to up the tally to 2-0.

    Post 383 added three more runs in the third inning as Nantze led off with a  double to left. Logan Appledorn came into run for Nantze and advanced to third on a hit to left by Strain. A fly ball to  right by Hall scored Appledorn to give the Oaks and starting pitcher Brett Hoffman a 3-0 lead. Rae's double scored Strain and third baseman Kevin Lyman followed with another double to score Rae to give the Oaks the 5-0 advantage.

    Napa closed the gap to 5-3 in the bottom of the inning and a single run in the fourth cut the Oaks lead to one at 5-4.

    Fair Oaks added another pair of runs in the fifth as Strain led off with a hit up the middle. With one out and Bret Sundberg at the plate, Strain got thrown out trying to steal. Sundberg got a hit up the middle and the next batter, Lyman, slammed the ball into center field and circled the bases for a home run as the outfielder chased the ball down in the fenceless expanse of Land Park. With Sundberg and Lyman scoring, the Oaks owned a 7-4 lead.

    Taylor Hickman replaced Hoffman on the mound in the bottom of the inning and neither team scored again until Napa came to bat in the seventh.

    A leadoff hit was followed by two quick outs, but then a walk and a hit past third brought in a Napa run to make it a 7-5 game. The Oaks only needed  one out to end the game, but another Napa hit loaded the bases setting up the next batter for a shot to center field. Like Lyman's blow in the top of the fifth, the ball rolled into the center field abyss, clearing the bases and giving Napa a 9-7 victory over the Oaks.

 

TEAM

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

R

H

E

FAIR OAKS

2

0

3

0

2

0

0

7

11

3

NAPA

0

0

3

1

0

0

5

9

8

1


Fair Oaks: Pitching - Hoffman, Hickman (5) and Nantze. Top Hitters - Nantze 2x3, 2B; Strain 2x3; Hall 2B, 2 RBI; Rae 2B, 2 RBI; Lyman 2x3, 2B, HR, 3 RBI.
Napa: Pitching - Diskin and Crandell. Top Hitters: Heurd 3x4; Cariela 2x3; Good HR, 4 RBI.