Sonoma County Grapes Baseball a Winner at Rec Park

A new semipro baseball team, the Sonoma County Grapes, took a 8 to 2 win Thursday in an exhibition match against the East Bay Lumberjacks atin Healdsburg.

It was the team's first game in Sonoma County in the franchise's young history. It's been nearly a decade since Sonoma County has enjoyed professional baseball.

Thursday's win featured Grapes starter Joe Lewis, who had four sharp innings, allowing just one hit — a first-inning single — and struck out seven Lumberjacks.

Grapes right fielder George Ban doubled in the second, tripled in the third and drove in a pair of runs. Brandon Gregorich — whose  .320 regular season average is 13th best in the entire North American League — added a single, walked twice and scored two runs.

Centerfielder Fred Atkins was 2 for 4 with a pair of doubles and a run scored for Sonoma County.

The Grapes used five pitchers (Vinny Pacchetti, Nick Alexander, Rob Savarese and Jeff Lyons) to limit the Lumberjacks to just seven hits. The Grapes travel to San Rafael to face North American League division rivals Pacifics in a six-game series at Albert Park, beginning Monday, Aug. 6.

The two teams will also play a free exhibition at Rec Park in Healdsburg on Aug. 9 at 7:15 p.m.

Tickets and information for all games are available at
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