By MARTY JAMES martyjames.sports@gmail.com

Six players had multi-hit games and Roy Hernandez pitched six strong innings of one-run ball, lifting the Napa Valley College baseball team to its fifth straight win, a 14-1 Bay Valley Conference victory on Thursday over Yuba College-Marysville at Storm Field.

In the second game of a three-game series, Napa Valley turned to its offense, exploding for 20 hits and 13 RBIs. The Storm (6-17 overall, 5-0 Bay Valley Conference) broke open a 1-1 game, scoring six runs in the fifth inning, four runs in the sixth inning, and three more runs in the eighth inning.

Napa Valley and College of Marin-Kentfield (15-8-1 overall, 5-0 Bay Valley) are tied for first place in the conference.

Jaden Hunter led the Storm's hitting attack, going 4-for-5, scoring two runs and driving in three runs.

Connor Ulm, Owen Nelson and Myles Gray each had three hits.

Ulm was 3-for-6 with a double, two runs scored and one RBI.

Nelson was 3-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs.

Gray was 3-for-5 with a double, two runs scored and two RBIs.

Ethan Boatman was 2-for-4 with a double, run scored and two RBIs.

Caleb Morant was 2-for-4 with a run scored and two RBIs.

Shosei Tatsuno was 1-for-5 with a run scored and RBI.

Wyatt Smith was 1-for-4 with two runs scored.

Hibiki Kodama was 1-for-4 with a run scored.

Tatsuno and Morant each had a stolen base.

Hernandez started for the Storm and gave up six hits, just one run (earned), walked only one and struck out six batters. Hernandez faced 26 batters.

The relief pitching for Napa Valley was also solid.

Nick Stubbles pitched two scoreless innings, walking two, striking out one and not allowing a hit. Stubbles faced eight batters.

Nick Paulson threw one shutout inning, striking out two and not allowing a hit. Paulson faced three batters.

Nelson's RBI single scored Tatsuno in the first inning for NVC.

In the fifth inning, it was Ulm's RBI double scoring Boatman, Nelson's RBI single scoring Ulm, Hunter's two-run single, Smith scoring when Morant was hit by a pitch, and Boatman's two-RBI single scoring Morant and Hunter.

In the sixth inning, it was Ulm scoring on an infield error, Gray's two-RBI single scoring Smith and Nelson, and Morant's run-scoring single bringing in Gray.

And then in the eighth inning, Napa Valley got an RBI single from Hunter that scored Gray and an RBI fielder's choice from Tatsuno that scored Hunter. In addition, Kodama scored on a wild pitch.

The third and final game of the series is on Saturday, March 22 at Yuba College-Marysville at 1 p.m.

* 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.