03 Apr St. Mary’s College High Bests Pinole Valley in Varsity Baseball League Opener

St. Mary’s College High pitcher Damien Nolan, left, jumps in frustration reacting to a call. Most of the rest of the day went his team’s way as the Panthers beat the Pinole Valley Spartans 6-2 Wednesday.

Story and photos by Joe Porrello

It may have been April 1, but St. Mary’s (Albany) College High wasn’t fooling around when they went on the road to beat Pinole Valley High 6-2 Wednesday in both teams’ first Tri-County-Rock League game.

The St. Mary’s Panthers used three runs on wild pitches, zero errors and a complete game from sophomore starting pitcher Cedric Boardman to overcome Pinole Valley’s Spartans.

“Boardman did a great job on the mound for us — just pounding the zone, avoiding three-ball counts and getting guys out early,” said Panthers third-year head coach Kevin Flemer. “He was just really efficient and dialed in, and the defense played well behind him.”

 

After St. Mary’s started the season at 6-1 and Pinole Valley at 5-1, each then lost two of three. The Panthers were collectively outscored 20-7 over the three-game span, while the Spartans faced a combined deficit of 31-13.

“It’s tough to piece together lineups and rotations with our injuries, but at the end of the day, they made their plays and we didn’t,” said second-year Spartans head coach Twon Blake. “My message to the team was the same as it is after a win, flush it, and move on to the next one.”

Historically well matched, the teams entered with Pinole Valley holding a slight advantage at 17-15 since 2010.

Starting with purpose, the Spartans scored a pair of first inning runs courtesy of a trio of singles from seniors Max Castro, Charles Vargas and Juan Vargas — the latter notching two RBIs.

 

“I didn’t let it get to me too much because I knew that those were lucky runs,” said Boardman.

Pinole Valley’s only other baserunner of the game came on another senior single, this time in the third inning off the bat of Joseph Tenorio, who also stole a base.

In a reversal of fortunes, St. Mary’s managed only a walk in the first three innings before breaking out for an offensive outburst.

 

After a trio of singles themselves in the fourth inning, the Panthers got their first run before grounding out with the bases loaded.

The Spartans further avoided damage in the following frame when they threw out a baserunner attempting to swipe a bag — immediately before a double. But the Panthers used the only two extra-base hits of the game to take control. St. Mary’s senior Luca Vargas hit the second two-bagger of the inning and tied the game before his team took the lead on a wild pitch.

 

Leading his team at the plate by going a perfect 4-4, Vargas also tallied three base hits. On the season, he paces his team with a .447 batting average and 17 hits in 12 games.

Light rainfall that began in the sixth inning may have contributed to Pinole Valley surrendering three more runs to make the score 6-2, where it remained. The Spartans could not weather the storm — so to speak — giving up two walks that ended up in runs via wild pitch.

 

Boardman concluded the game by retiring his 13th straight batter to complete his first career complete game as a sophomore — on a team with just two underclassmen out of 19 players. 

“Everyone on the team is super nice to me and I’m just happy I can be a contributor,” he said.

The lanky lefty finished his 88-pitch performance allowing three hits and one walk, while striking out six.

“My changeup was looking really good; I was able to locate it down and away the whole game,” said Boardman.

 

The two runs were the fewest allowed by St. Mary’s in any game up to that point, while the six runs scored were the least in any win for a Panthers team averaging 7.5 runs per game and allowing 5.2. The Spartans had surrendered exactly as many runs as they had scored as of Wednesday, averaging 5.3 runs per game on both sides of the ball.

It only took Pinole Valley one game to match their league loss record from last year, when they went 10-1. The Spartans, looking for their eighth consecutive season without a losing record in league play or overall, head on a three-game road stretch that includes their last interleague matchup when they face Pittsburg High on Saturday.

 

Before that, they traveled to Albany on Thursday and tried returning the favor of a home field loss to the Panthers, but knew it would not be easy. 

Blake — along with Flemer and Boardman — acknowledged the skill of junior Panthers captain pitcher Damien Nolan, who would be starting on the mound. 

Nolan led his team to a 2-0 shutout win by amassing eight strikeouts in just three innings and tallying a single along with two stolen bases. On Wednesday, he collected two singles, a pair of runs, one RBI and a walk. On the season, he leads the Panthers in doubles, triples, stolen bases and ERA (0.71).

St. Mary’s, who last season had their first losing league record in over 22 years, look to continue their unbeaten start against TCR league teams when they take on intracity opponent Albany High on Saturday.