Sonoma Valley defeats San Rafael in fair weather baseball at Arnold Field

In the Tuesday night varsity baseball game at Arnold Field, bad hops, walks and balks seemed posed to deprive the Dragons of their ninth straight win, but dogged determination gave the Dragons a 9-4 victory over San Rafael nonetheless.

It wasn't as easy as the final score indicates, at least not at first. Starting pitcher Joe Costanzo held the Bulldogs scoreless in the top of the first frame, and the Dragons scored a pair in their half of the inning but could have scored more. Max Handron, Tucker Pierce and Anthony Tommasi loaded the bases on a walk, single and error, and Handron came across the plate on a passed ball (though the batter, Jamie Pierce, struck out on the pitch).

With one out, Tucker Pierce was tagged out on a failed suicide squeeze. Designated hitter Tyler Garrett singled into left field to score Tommasi, but a subsequent groundout ended what initially looked like a very promising inning with only 2 runs scored.

Then the normally stingy Sonoma defense started to show some cracks – they had 4 errors on the night – and Costanzo had a hard time controlling the game, giving up 5 hits and 3 walks in his stint. Though San Rafael didn't score in the third – thanks in part to a great catch by right fielder Tommasi of a long ball hit over his head – they scored a pair in the fourth to take the lead 3-2. Jamie Pierce took over the mound with Brendan Hogan replacing him at first, and got the third out on an easy grounder.

Then the Dragons started to make some noise, recapturing the momentum and never looking back. Third baseman Dusty Pierce opened the bottom of the inning with a single to center, Jake Baker came in to run for Pierce and catcher Logan Mak singled into left field.

Austin Arrington executed a perfect sacrifice bunt which caused the San Rafael pitcher to rush and throw offline to first base, scoring Baker from second, advancing Mak to third and leaving Arrington safe at first.

Though Mak was thrown out at home on a fielder's choice of an infield grounder by Matt Norrbom, Handron drove in Arrington on a single to left field and Norrbom advanced to second base. Tucker Pierce walked to load the bases again, Tommasi hit into another fielder's choice to score Norrbom, and the inning ended with the Dragons regaining the lead 5-3.

The Sonoma defense settled down, holding the Bulldogs scoreless in the fifth and sixth innings behind Jamie Pierce's relief pitching, while the offense remained hot. In the bottom of the fifth Mak walked, stole second base and scored when pinch hitter Riley Phelan singled. Handron walked and Phelan wasted no time stealing third. A botched low-percentage pickoff attempt at first base allowed Phelan to score for the inning's second run.

The Dragons struck for another pair in the bottom of the sixth inning. Jamie Pierce walked and Hogan advanced him to second base, then Dusty Pierce singled to load the bases yet again. Two runs resulted, one when Mak was hit by a pitch, and the inning ended with Sonoma ahead 9-3.

Reliever Jamie Pierce got the win, holding San Rafael to a single run in the seventh inning. He threw 3-1/3 innings, allowing just two hits, no walks and no earned runs, and was named player of the game by coaches.

Next up for the Dragons – whose 7-0 record is the envy of the North Bay – is a rematch with Casa Grande at their field in Petaluma, Friday, March 22, game time 4 p.m.