Rally propels Bicycle Works

Knudsen helps her team capture Seniors crown...

Keep the pressure on, and you never know what will happen.

That seemed to be Bicycle Works’ rallying cry Tuesday night as it rallied from a two-run deficit in the late innings to win the Napa Valley Girls Fastpitch Association Senior Division championship with a 5-3 victory over MI&V Insurance at Kiwanis Park.

MI&V appeared it would pull out a 3-2 win when, with two outs in the top of the seventh, its left fielder had to run toward Brittany Savin’s fly ball but couldn’t hang onto it.

That brought up Luie Knudsen (2-for-3), who had singled in her previous two at-bats, and MI&V pitcher Sarah Halsey walked her in five pitches to load the bases.

Halsey — who had thrown two-hit, shutout ball for the first four innings — then lost the handle on two wild pitches to Trisha Towne. Bicycle Works scored on both of them for a 4-3 lead. Towne drove in another with an RBI single up the middle, before MI&V finally got the third out.

Knudsen then wrapped up her seven-hitter with a 1-2-3 seventh that included her ninth strikeout.

“I can’t believe we came back with that last-inning rally,” the 2009 Vintage High graduate said. “It’s unbelievable.”

Asked if she could believe what a gift her team got with the seventh-inning error, Knudsen said “It’s rec ball” — though her own team struggled with “rec” play in the early going.

Hailey Manning led off the bottom of the third for MI&V with a walk and scored three errors later for a 1-0 lead. In the fourth, Anna Marie Scaduto and Sarah Halsey (3-for-3) opened with back-to-back singles, pulled off a double steal, and got a run on a Knudsen wild pitch to make it 2-0.

The game got more tense once Bicycle Works began to figure out Halsey’s lower-velocity but moving pitches. Colie Beltran led off the fifth with a double to left-center. One out later, Savin ripped an RBI double off the fence in left, cutting MI&V’s lead to 2-1.

Savin then tried to score on a single by Knudsen (2-for-3), but center fielder Paige Logan ended the inning by nabbing her with a strike to the plate.

Knudsen and Co. retired MI&V in order in the bottom of the fifth, however, then tied the score 2-2 in the sixth. Towne opened with a walk, took third on Jackie Zimmer’s misplayed bunt, and scored on Maryanna Valenzuela’s RBI groundout. But Halsey ended that threat by grabbing a line drive and doubling off Zimmer at second base.

With new momentum, MI&V rallied back ahead in the sixth. A collision in the outfield led to a dropped fly ball, and another Halsey single led to a two-out, RBI bunt single by Logan and a 3-2 MI&V lead.

“We were trying to make things happen,” MI&V coach Tom Norris said.

But Beltran (2-for-4) got Bicycle Works going in the seventh with a one-out single, sparking the winning rally.

“I came into the game a little out of it,” said Beltran, who said coach/league president Dale Rosemeyer motivated the team in what might have been his last NVGFA season. “I was thinking it could be Dale’s last year and I wanted us to turn it around. It was nerve-wracking out there.”

Morgan Duarte had a hit for MI&V. Cantu added a hit for Bicycle Works, which finished the regular season with a league-best 11-4 record to earn the No. 1 seed.

MI&V coach Tom Norris said his team made too many errors for a Senior Division championship game.

“When you get up to this level, you need to stay focused,” said the 30-plus-year veteran of NVGFA coaching. “But we were missing a couple of key players. I’m happy with our team. We’ve played Bicycle Works for the championship seven times since 2000 and we won three years ago, but Dale’s just a good coach.”

A four-run eighth inning gave Napa Valley Engraving a dramatic 4-3 win over Kiwanis and the championship of the Napa Valley Girls Fastpitch Association’s Major Division Monday night. Napa Valley Engraving won the best-of-three series 2-0.

A third and deciding game between Bicycle Works and MI&V tonight at 6 p.m. at Kiwanis Park will determine the league’s senior championship. Bicycle Works won last night, 6-2, scoring all six runs in the second inning to keep its 2009 softball season going.

Napa Valley Engraving and Kiwanis battled to a scoreless tie through seven innings,which featured stellar pitching by Haley Forbes (NVE) and Makenzie Miller (Kiwanis) along with equally impressive defense. The international tie-breaker — in which a runner starts off the inning at second base — was used in the eighth inning.

Jasmine Rodriguez hit a two-run double just inside the left-field foul line to give Kiwanis a 2-0 lead in the top of the eighth inning. Kiwanis added its third run on an infield error.

Down 3-0, Napa Valley Engraving came right back, as Tori Stensby and Peyton Stensby delivered RBI singles. With runners at second and third and two outs, Kiwanis scored the tying and winning runs on an infield error. Jordan Hernandez, who had doubled in the deciding inning, scored the winning run.

“We just needed a chance — we got it,” said NVE manager Larry Hancock. “We’re rec ball coaches — hopefully we put them in the right position to play. That’s all you can ask of them.

“They’re all good ball players and they’ve been playing for a lot of years. A lot of them play travel ball.”

Forbes got the win, allowing six hits, striking out five and walking one. Matched up in a pitcher’s duel, Miller gave up six hits, struck out 13 and walked just one batter.

Kiwanis turned two double plays. Courtney Kelley and and Peyton Stensby each had two hits for NVE.

Jasmine Rodriguez had three hits and Makenzie Miller two hits to lead Kiwanis.

In the Senior Division game, Bicycle Works scored its first two runs of the second inning on an infield error. Kyndra Shaw had had an RBI single, followed by Coley Beltran’s run-scoring double. The fifth and sixth runs of the inning scored on an error.

Luie Knudson got the win, allowing five hits, striking out nine and walking two. Trisha Towne and Kyndra Shaw each had two hits for Bicycle Works.

MI&V scored single runs in the sixth and seventh innings.

The NVGFA’s annual picnic and awards program is Thursday a 6 p.m. at Kiwanis Park. The league will present awards.

MI&V and Napa Valley Engraving won opening-round games in the Napa Valley Girls Fastpitch Association’s best-of-three championship series Sunday night a Kiwanis Park.


Erin Halsey and Anna-Marie Scaduto each drove in two runs and Sarah Halsey pitched a three-hitter, leading MI&V to a 4-3 win over Bicycle Works in Game 1 of the league’s senior division, which is made up of players ages 15 1/2 to 19 years of age.

In the late game, Haley Forbes tossed a two-hitter and Napa Valley Engraving scored the game’s only run in the fourth inning in a 1-0 win over Kiwanis in the major division, comprised of players ages 13 to 15.

Erin Halsey’s RBI single and Scaduto’s two-run double gave MI&V a 3-0 lead in the first inning. MI&V made it 4-1 in the fourth as Erin Halsey drove in a run with a double. But Bicycle Works, the league’s top team during the regular season, came back in the seventh inning, scoring two runs, with Trish Towne getting an RBI single. Bicycle Works left the tying run on second base.

“We’re on our track,” said Tom Norris, MI&V manager. “If they play (Monday) night like they did tonight and the last two games, we shouldn’t have any problems.”

MI&V is a win away from taking the title. Game 2 is tonight at 6 p.m. at Kiwanis.

“We just need to stay focused,” said Norris., whose team has won its last three games. “They’re a great bunch of kids. We’ve got a good team and I’m very proud of them.”

Sarah Halsey allowed three runs (two earned), struck out four and didn’t walk anyone. Bicycle Works scored its first run in the fourth inning as Luie Knudson doubled and came in on Coley Beltran’s RBI infield grounder. Beltran also doubled and scored in the seventh.

Knudson also pitched well, giving up eight hits, four runs (three earned), striking out eight and not walking anyone.

Erin Halsey had three hits and Jess Brady two hits to lead MI&V’s offense.

Game 2 in the major division series is tonight at 8 p.m.

Forbes didn’t give up a hit until the sixth inning. Forbes also struck out eight, walked four and hit a batter. Kiwanis had the tying run at second base in the seventh inning, but Forbes ended the threat by striking out the last batter.

Jordon Hernandez scored from second base on an infield hit by Lacy Orona in the fourth inning for Napa Valley Engraving.

Since it’s a championship series, there is no time limit or 10-run rule.