By MARTY JAMES martyjames.sports@gmail.com
The Napa Valley College baseball team won its fourth game in a row, beating host Yuba College in the opener of a Bay Valley Conference series, 13-4, in Marysville on Wednesday.
Napa Valley (5-17 overall, 4-0 Bay Valley Conference) went ahead 7-0 early in the game, scoring two runs in the first inning and five runs in the second inning.
The Storm was not done scoring. Napa Valley scored three runs in the fifth inning, two runs in the sixth inning, and another run in the ninth inning.
Napa Valley had its offense in high gear, producing 17 hits, with five players getting multi-hit games.
Napa Valley also had 10 RBIs, left 13 runners on base, walked six times and struck out six times.
The pitching was also very solid for the Storm.
Caleb Morant had a big day at the plate, going 4-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.
Wyatt Smith was 3-for-6 with two doubles, three RBIs and two runs scored.
Owen Nelson was 3-for-4 with one RBI and two runs scored.
Shosei Tatsuno was 2-for-5 and scored two runs.
Jaden Hunter was 2-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored.
Also contributing for the Storm:
Connor Ulm, 1-for-4, three runs scored.
Myles Gray, 1-for-5, RBI, run scored.
Hibiki Kodama, 1-for-5, RBI.
Smith had two stolen bases. Tatsuno and Nelson each had a stolen base.
Carson Goss started for the Storm and pitched five innings, facing 21 batters and allowing four hits and two runs (one earned), walking four and striking out two.
Joel Gapusan pitched two innings, facing 10 batters and giving up one hit and one run (earned), walking two and striking out one.
Shinra Saka pitched one-third of an inning.
Emilio Diaz pitched 1 2/3 innings and walked one.
In the first inning, it was Tatsuno scoring on Gray's sacrifice RBI fly-out to center field, and Ulm scoring on Morant's RBI single.
In the second inning, it was Ethan Boatman scoring on Nelson's RBI sacrifice fly-out to center field, Tatsuno scoring on Smith's RBI double, Smith scoring on Hunter's RBI single, Gray scoring on Morant's RBI single, and Hunter scoring on Kodama's RBI single.
In the fifth inning, Ulm scored on Smith's RBI single, Nelson scored on Hunter's RBI single, and Smith scored on a wild pitch.
In the sixth for NVC, it was Ulm scoring on a passed ball and Nelson scoring on Smith's RBI double.
Mason DeOcampo scored on an infield error in the ninth inning.
Game 2 of the series is Thursday, March 20 at 2 p.m. at NVC's Storm Field.
* Marty James is a freelance writer who makes his home in Napa. He retired on June 4, 2019 after spending 40 years as a sports writer, sports editor and executive sports editor for the Napa Valley Register, a daily newspaper in Napa County. He is a 1979 graduate of Sacramento State and a member of the California Golf Writers & Broadcasters Association. He was inducted into the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame in 2016, the Vintage High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019, and the Napa High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022.