In a preview of the much-anticipated Acalanes vs Marin Catholic baseball game at Oracle Park
on April 18, the Dons visited Kentfield Saturday for their final tune-up before the regular season
starts this Friday. By the time the visiting fans had set up their chairs on the berm that exists
instead of bleachers, the Wildcats’ starter, their expected ace, had set down the Dons in order with three strikeouts.

The Dons answered with their own best version of automatic, right-hander Branson Smith. The senior was comfortably in control for 2 innings of work and left with a 1-0 lead, thanks to consecutive singles by catcher Dylan Meany (his first of three singles on the day), first baseman Cody Michlitsch, and centerfielder Tommy Terhar in the top of the second inning.

 

Smith was followed on the mound by senior Isaac Copen, who continued his march along his
return from ulnar collateral reconstruction. The Wildcat bats could not catch up to his velocity,
as Copen is just warming up for the upcoming season.  The Dons’ bats had continued to make noise, with two additional runs in the third, again the result of three consecutive hits, and
another in the fourth. Josh Lee’s third-inning line drive double down the left-field line was
followed by singles by third baseman Drew Asadorian and Meany. In the fourth, Tyler Winkles pulled a ball down the right field line for a two-out triple, scoring Terhar from second. The inning
had been extended because, after earning a walk to start the inning, Terhar was stealing, sliding
safely into second on a hit-and-run ground ball hit by starting left fielder Brady Coultas that
surely was a double play in the making.

Acalanes scored their final run in the top of the fifth, with Meany scoring on a passed ball. By
that time, left-hander Riley Gates had thrown strikes and more strikes to the seven batters he
faced over 1 2/3 innings. Austin McManamon pitched a scoreless sixth, and Tommy Terhar
came in for the bottom of the seventh, allowing a little bit of traffic on the bases, giving up a lone
run on a groundout, before closing the door for the save for the Dons. The pitchers held the
upper hand in this match-up, with brisk winds blowing in from the outfield, reminding the fans
that it was indeed still February.

 

The story to be told early this season is how the Dons replace three departed seniors from last
year’s outfield, an outfield that was described as “defensively, the best Acalanes has ever had”.
On Saturday, Terhar was joined in the starting outfield by Coultas in left and junior Paul Bacon in
right, with senior Kyle Woodson and junior Will Forschler also playing the corner spots in the
game. Junior Zach Birrell, maybe the most likely to mimic Ben Pecci’s “The Catch” this year,
will make a case to man one outfield position once he trades in his soccer shoes for a bat and
glove. Junior Karsten Harmeyer is also in the mix for playing time at the corner OF positions.
The infield looks to be, around the horn, Asadorian, Winkles, Jimmy Cusamano, and Michlitsch,
after a little bit of musical chairs from last year. Winkles moves over to join Asadorian, last
year’s starter at third, on the left side of the diamond, replacing four-year varsity player James
Stadt. Cusamano, starting at first base by the end of last season, is now Winkles’ double-play
partner at second, and Michlitsch, backing up second base last year, becomes the man at first.
Underclassman Tyler Tarrab, a freshman, who saw some late-inning action at Marin on
Saturday, and Beckett Clayton, a sophomore, will also press to put their fingerprints on this season, as the Dons look to get back into the playoffs and defend last season’s NCS
Championship.

The Dons’ official opening day is this Friday, February 27, when they host Redwood High
School at Acalanes, Ken Souza Field, at 3:30, before traveling to Windsor on Saturday. There will
be free admission on Friday to anyone wearing a 35-year-old Redwood High Track and Field
sweatshirts.