Hard-Fought Victories and Tough Losses

By Matt Burge

MUSTANG (Age 9-10)

Orinda Giants 11, Piedmont Spartans 9

After being down 11-2, the Spartans mounted a furious comeback, but fell short in the end. Dylan Han hit a towering double, and Joe Sassi had five RBI's. The pitching was anchored by Siddarth Gala and Will Kalmbach, and Cooper Ford made a spectacular leaping grab for a pop-up to save a run. Burke St. Claire made two nice plays in the outfield.

Piedmont Phillies 11, Bulldogs 10

The Mustang Phillies had another thrilling victory on Saturday–11-10 against a solid, well-coached Bulldogs team. Up 11-7 going into the bottom of the sixth inning, Jackson Oh made a diving play at third for the final out to hold off a late rally by the Bulldogs and preserve the victory. Patrick Filler, Nicholas Lynn, Aidan Dixon and Jackson Oh pitched a strong combined game for the Phillies, and Mikey Goody, Robby Alazrqui, and Lane Bentley had clutch hits for the team to fuel the strong offensive output.

Piedmont Titans 16, Grizzlies 6

The Titans shone offensively in the fourth inning when John Roos hit a single, Jonah Sanders whacked a triple, driving in two runs, and then scored from Grant Keating’s double. Trent Settlemeier then slammed a two-run homerun. In other innings, Hunter Settlemeier hit an RBI triple, and James Sharman and John Roos had RBI singles. Jonah Sanders and Grant Keating pitched with no runs allowed. Will Reicher had a nice catch at second.

BRONCO (Age 11-12)

Piedmont Four 6, Moraga A's 5

A well-played game by both teams. With strong pitching by Colin Dixon, and shutout pitching by Ryan Addiego, Eoghan Shields, and Alexander Robison, the Four kept the game close till the bottom of the sixth. With the bases loaded, two outs, and down 5-3, Alexander Robison crushed the ball over the center fielder's head, scoring all three runners to put the Four ahead 6-5. Alexander Robison held the A's to no runs in the seventh for the win. Solid defense was played by Kyle Mortimer, Hess Evans, Chris Conn and Nick Parina.

Moraga Dodgers 14, Piedmont Oaks 11

The Oaks started the second half of the season with a terrific game against the first place Dodgers. After falling behind in three innings the Oaks scored seven runs in the fourth to tie. Singles by Nicholas Loduca, Dylan Skov, Spencer London and doubles by Cade Becker and Nick Lee led the offensive charge. Strong pitching performances by Kai Kirsch and Ami Felson kept them in the game. Spencer London and Dylan Skov both threw out runners stealing to limit the Dodgers offensive power. Once again down by 7, the Oaks charged back and scored four in the seventh. Hits by Heller, Lee, and Loduca again provided the spark. The Oaks fell three short of the Dodgers in this offensive battle.

PONY (Age 13-14)

Walnut Creek Greydawgs 7, Piedmont Scots 5

In a twilight game under the lights in Walnut Creek, starter Louie Gerhardy pitched five solid innings and Dylan Porter closed the close game. The offense was led by Sophie Baker (two RBI singles). Gus Gilbert, Nate Levinson, and Porter all had RBI singles. Ricky Peters burned up the base paths with three of the Scots' nine stolen bases. Defensively, Dylan Porter made a difficult over-the-shoulder catch on second base and the rest of the Scots defense was solid.

Hayward 18, Piedmont Titans 8

The Titans played tough despite being on the losing end of a scorefest. Sophie Nadler caught a line drive at second and contributed with a hit. Claire O'Connor hit a three-run triple to right center. Addie Christianson and Nicole Shoptaugh pitched well against a big hitting team.

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Piedmont Baseball Foundation coaches and team representatives wanting game results included in this weekly rundown should submit their reports by Sunday at 8 p.m. at www.piedmontbaseball.org using the "Game Publicity" tool.

Piedmont Patch is happy to publish game results from any sport whenever they are available. Coaches, managers, and parents affiliated with other Piedmont teams and leagues are encouraged to email game stats, summaries and photos to Editor Amy Jeffries at amy@patch.com.