The Acalanes Junior Varsity Baseball Team rallied for 5 runs in the top of the seventh inning to secure their first win of the season, a 8-6 victory over the Redwood High School Giants in Marin on Friday.

The Dons got out to an early 1-0 lead when Will Feinstein grounded out to second, scoring lead-off batter Trey Roberts in the first inning.  That lead kept until the third inning, when the Redwood Giants managed to score four runs (three unearned) due to some walks and untimely errors.  But the Dons would not allow one bad inning to break their focus and will to win.  They scored 2 runs in the top of the sixth when Trey Roberts singled and Isaiah Castillo walked to start the inning, and came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Will Feinstein and a fielder’s choice by Mateo Valenzuela, cutting Redwood’s lead to 5-3.  That set the stage for an epic 5-run seventh inning, where Roberts, Castillo, Feinstein, Valenzuela and Marcus Yakaitis all came around to score, and the Dons took the lead for good 8-5.  Redwood was able to plate one more run in the bottom of the seventh, but it was not enough as they fell to the Dons 8-6. 

The JV Dons were led by solid pitching throughout the game.  Grant Matter started the game for Acalanes and stymied the Giants over the first two innings, allowing zero hits and zero runs.  Mateo Valenzuela (2.0 IP, 1 Earned Run), Marcus Yakaitis (1.0 IP, 1 Earned Run) and Isaiah Castillo (2.0 IP, 1 Earned Run) each delivered solid pitching performances for the Dons, keeping the game close and setting the stage for the team’s late-inning comeback.

At the plate, the Dons were lead by the front half of their batting order.  Trey Roberts (3 Runs, 1 Hit, 2 Stolen Bases), Isaiah Castillo (2 Runs, 1 Hit, 1 Stolen Base), Will Feinstein (1 Run, 1 Hit, 3 RBI, 2 Stolen Bases), and Mateo Valenzuela (1 Run, 1 Hit, 1 RBI, 3 Stolen Bases) provided the offensive muscle and powered the Dons to an impressive 8-6 comeback win.

The JV Dons (1-2) will travel to Pacifica on Tuesday, March 3 to take on St. Ignatius College Prep of San Francisco.  Go Dons!