The Acalanes Freshman Baseball fell to a very tough Clayton Valley Charter team on Saturday, losing in heartbreaking fashion twice by a final score of 5-4 in Game 1 in 8 innings and 7-6 in Game 2 in 7 innings. The games were mirror images of each other. Starting pitchers Brendan Miles and Jake Colaco had solid outings, each going 5 innings while giving up 2 runs on 5 hits with no walks.
Starting pitchers Brendan Miles and Jake Colaco put the “BR-AKE”s on the Clayton Valley bats
They each also had their hats fall off zero times, which couldn’t be said for one of the Clayton Valley pitchers, whose hat fell off 18 times, a record in the StatCast era, which led one Dons fan to suggest “getting some stickum for that hat”.
For the two games, the Dons managed to collect 10 runs on 8 hits, 15 walks, and 3 hit batters. David Gonzales led the way, reaching base 6 out of 7 times he came to the plate with 2 hits and 4 walks.
David Roux also collected 2 hits, and Cole Gwaltney, Brody Greenfield, Ben Pecci, and Cruz Lopez each had a hit. Will Roberts was able to draw a birthday walk – Happy Birthday Will!
In both games, the Dons were ahead going into the bottom of the 7th inning, up 4-2 in Game 1 and 6-2 in Game 2, but unfortunately couldn’t hold the lead in either contest. In Game 1, a throwing error allowed Clayton Valley to tie the game, and they were able to win in the 8th inning on a walk-off walk. In Game 2, a combination of errors, hits, HBP, and walks in the last inning allowed Clayton Valley to score 5 runs, ending in a walk-off single ground ball past the shortstop who was screened by the runner heading for 3rd base.
As I sat down to write this last article of the season, I thought about reporting on which player had the most total hits, RBIs, runs, stolen bases, unassisted plays at first from the mound, 18 pitch at bats, head over heels slides into home, bases clearing line drives, 9 inning no-decision shutouts, highlight reel catches in the outfield, sweet diving plays in the infield, foul balls stuck in the backstop, or infield pop fly walk-offs. Instead, since baseball is a team sport, what is more important is that the team went 14-9 while playing a very difficult schedule, and every young man on the team reached base at least 3 times, scored at least once, and drove in at least one run. Coach JJ summed it up best when said that his favorite thing about coaching is seeing young men mature and get better throughout the course of the year, which was evident with this team.
I already thanked the moms in the last article, but I also wanted to thank the dads. Special thanks to Michael and Matt P. for helping run GameChanger and the Scoreboard, Kevin for BBQing and being DJ, Stefano for “baseballisms”, Brian for wearing a Darth Maul mask, Russ for BBQing and joining me way off the field when my son was pitching, Matt R. for sharing the merits of minivans and agreeing to host the end of year party, Brandon for his great stories, JB for BBQing and assigning nicknames to all the players that I still can’t keep straight, Dan and Joe for grabbing morning coffee, the grand-dads for always being supportive, and everyone for hanging out before, during, and after the games. I also wanted to thank JJ for being such a great mentor to these young men, and helping build a sense of comraderie and what it means to be a Don.
It was quite a journey writing these articles all season, having started the year reporting on the facts of the games before deciding along the way that Gonzo journalism featuring things happening on and off the field was the way to go. I am sure these articles missed the mark many times, but I hope that the get to know coach segments, references to junior beat writers, embarrassing childhood photos, themes around Shakespeare / Star Wars / Mother’s Day, improvised stats / dugout chatter / attendance records, and references to Russian Yachts, Oscar Slaps, CNN+, Barry Bonds, the Great Resignation, Presidential Elections, lizard catching, “baseballisms”, and wardrobe malfunctions provided you a bit of entertainment.
I am pretty sure that one of you may have hinted that perhaps you would like me to write the JV articles next year if nobody else volunteers. While I have begun preliminary contract negotiations with Jane, I must admit that we are still far apart on compensation as salaries for high school baseball writers have exploded. That being said, I am optimistic we can get something done before the beginning of Spring Training. If anyone would like to reach out to her directly on my behalf, you might be able to find her sitting quietly in the stands at Acalanes taking in an athletic event. Go Dons!
note: Sports Boosters is VERY grateful for parents like Stuart who put their heart into writing these sports articles. The ACAsports Family loves supporting all Dons, all teams, all sports. THANK YOU, STUART!