SAN LEANDRO, CA - 44 hits, 29 runs, and 10 innings later, Castro Valley emerged with a key road victory in West Alameda County Conference play on Wednesday afternoon, edging host San Leandro, 15-14.
Kevin Sasser's slow ground ball to shortstop with the bases loaded in the top of the 10th inning brought home Skyler Bowersmith to put the Trojans on top, and Castro Valley pitcher Grant Thomas was able to close things out in the bottom half to preserve the victory.
The game was back-and-forth throughout, as Castro Valley took leads of 5-0 and 9-3, but San Leandro stormed back with seven runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take a 10-9 lead, highlighted by a two-run double off the bat of Jimmy Garcia and a run-scoring double by Enrique Aguirre. One of the biggest defensive plays of the game also occurred in the inning, however, when Gerald Nervis was thrown out by left fielder Jose Dominguez, trying to score on Aguirre's double for the third out.
Castro Valley regained the lead on a two-run double by Angelo Hernandez in the top of the sixth, and forged a three-run lead in the top of the seventh on a run-scoring single by Aaron Vigallon and a bases-loaded walk to Dominguez. The Pirates refused to go down quietly, however.
OJ Aihie's two-out, two-run triple in the bottom of the seventh tied the game, and each team scored once in the ninth, as Vigallon drove in a run for Castro Valley, but Aguirre responded with a double to score Nervis in the bottom half, setting the stage for Castro Valley's 10th inning heroics.
Bowersmith, Matthew Aahl, and Jared Gibbs each finished the game with four hits for Castro Valley, while Aguirre and Garcia had three hits each for San Leandro.
The teams play again on Friday afternoon, at Castro Valley.
