By MARTY JAMES martyjames.sports@gmail.com

Ethan Boatman hit a home run and Blake Goen was solid in relief for the Napa Valley College baseball team, but the host Storm lost to first-place College of Marin-Kentfield, 7-5, in a Bay Valley Conference game on Saturday, March 29.

College of Marin (18-9-1 overall, 8-1 Bay Valley) completed a three-game sweep of Napa Valley.

Napa Valley (7-20 overall, 6-3 Bay Valley), tied for third place in the conference standings, had nine hits, struck out nine times, left five runners on base, and walked twice in the game at Storm Field. The Storm made a comeback from an early 3-0 deficit, tying the game, 5-5 in the seventh inning.

College of Marin won it, scoring two runs in the top of the ninth inning.

Boatman led the Storm, going 2-for-3, scoring two runs and driving in two runs.

Wyatt Smith also had a big day at the plate, going 2-for-4, scoring a run and driving in a run.

Other hits for the Storm came from:

Shosei Tatsuno, 1-for-5; Owen Nelson, 1-for-4, run scored; Myles Gray, 1-for-3; Hibiki Kodama, 1-for-3, run scored; and Marcellus Cueva, 1-for-1.

Nick Stubbles pitched four innings, facing 20 batters, in a starting assignment. Stubbles gave up nine hits and five runs (all earned).

Goen worked in relief, pitching four innings and facing 18 batters. Goen allowed four hits and two runs (both earned), struck out four and did not walk anyone.

Nick Paulson finished up, going one shutout inning, facing three batters and allowing one hit. Boatman hit a two-run home run in the third inning.

Smith scored when Jaden Hunter reached base on an RBI fielder's choice in the sixth inning.

Boatman scored in the seventh inning when Smith reached base on an RBI fielder's choice.

College of Marin got a big day from Wyatt Davis, who was 4-for-5 with a home run, three runs scored and two RBIs.

Adrian Ruiz was 2-for-5 with a double, Derek Bartram was 2-for-5 with an RBI, and Danil Wells was 2-for-4.

Caden Sta Maria was 1-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.

Napa Valley begins a three-game Bay Valley Conference series against host Los Medanos College-Pittsburg on Tuesday, April 1 at 2 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.