Home runs by Gray, Smith lead NVC baseball over Contra Costa
By MARTY JAMES
Myles Gray and Wyatt Smith each homered and the Napa Valley College baseball team scored in every inning except the ninth on the way to a 26-7 Bay Valley Conference win over Contra Costa College on Friday, April 17 in San Pablo.
The offense was in high gear, with Napa Valley totaling 23 hits, including seven extra-base hits.
There are three games to go in the regular season for the Storm (12-24 overall, 8-10 Bay Valley Conference). They are in sixth place in the conference standings.
Gray had a huge day, going 3-for-6 with a home run, two doubles, four RBIs and three runs scored.
Smith had a big day, going 3-for-5 with a home run, double, five RBIs and three runs scored.
Smith hit a three-run home run in the fifth inning.
Gray's solo home run came in the seventh inning.
Six players had multi-hit games for the Storm, which was ahead 22-1 in the sixth inning.
Dylan Brown was 4-for-7 with four runs scored.
Hibiki Kodama was 3-for-5, scoring three runs and driving in a run.
Ryan Rice was 2-for-4 with a double, three runs scored and four RBIs.
Zack Baird was 2-for-6, scoring two runs and driving in a run.
Also, contributing to the hit parade:
Hibiki Harayama, 1-for-1, RBI; Nico Velasquez, 1-for-4, two runs scored, four RBIs; Ben Menard, 1-for-4, run scored, RBI; Mason Deocampo, 1-for-2, double, RBI; Mason Bartlett, 1-for-1, run scored; Devan McMinn, 1-for-3, four runs scored.
It was the third and final game of a Bay Valley Conference series.
Napa Valley started out the game by scoring three runs in the first inning. The Storm added single runs in the second and third innings.
They scored four runs in the fourth inning, six runs in the fifth inning, and seven runs in the sixth inning.
The Storm scored a run in the seventh inning and scored three runs in the eighth inning.
Nick Stubbles started for NVC and pitched six innings, facing 29 batters and allowing 11 hits, five runs (four earned), walking just one and striking out two. Stubbles threw 88 pitches (59 strikes).
Seth England pitched in relief, going two innings and facing eight batters.
Diego Balderas finished up, going one inning and facing five batters.
NVC closes out the regular season with a three-game Bay Valley series against College of Marin-Kentfield.
Game 1 is on Tuesday, April 21 at NVC's Storm Field at 2 p.m.
The Storm is averaging 7.3 runs per game. As a team, NVC has a .291 batting average, .390 slugging percentage, and .413 on-base percentage.
* 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.