Piedmont baseball wins 2 out of 3 games

Piedmont High School’s baseball team won 2 out of 3 games for the week, evening their season record at 5 wins and 5 losses.  The team hit the ball extremely well, led by home runs from Kyle Spanier and Lucas Derr.  Piedmont beat Redwood Christian, 23-5, and Hayward, 11-3, before losing a hard-fought game to St. Mary’s, 3-2. 

On Tuesday March 19, Piedmont filled the box score against Redwood Christian. The Highlanders hammered out 24 hits, led by Paul Woolcott’s 5 and Luke Harris’s 3.  Owen Levinson, Joe Sassi, Lucas Derr, Kyle Spanier, and Ryan Fitzgerald added their own multi-hit games.  Eleven players had RBIs, with Sassi and Woolcott collecting 3 each. Kyle Spanier continued his exciting hitting with a big home run well over the left field fence. Piedmont attacked the fence all day, including an RBI double by Myles Smith. Lars Derr earned the win, giving up only 2 earned runs in 5 innings and striking out 5 batters.  Abe Barnes closed out the game for Piedmont with 2 solid innings in relief. 

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On Friday March 22, Piedmont continued hitting and pitching well in the win over Hayward.  Piedmont struck early with 3 runs in the first inning and 5 in the second.  The Highlanders finished with 16 hits, led by Trent Settlemier with 3, and Alex Hilton, Sassi, Spanier, Lars Derr, and Cal Barna with 2 each.  This was catcher Barna’s first game of the season, and he went 2 for 2 with an RBI along with solid play behind the plate. Hilton and Spanier had 2 RBIs, and Nick Parker, Aidan Dixon, and Jonah Sanders also drove in runs.  On the mound, Ben Levinson yielded only 2 earned runs in 6 innings as he kept the Farmers off balance. Settlemier came in to close out the game in the 7^th inning.

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On Saturday March 23, Piedmont dropped a close, extremely well-pitched game at St. Mary’s. Ryan Fitzgerald threw a complete game, allowing 7 hits and only 1 run via a hit.  He was matched by St. Mary’s Nick Vamis, who pitched 6 1/3 innings of 6-hit ball. After pounding out 40 hits in their previous 2 games, Piedmont was limited to a home run by Lucas Derr, doubles by Spanier and Sassi, and singles by Settlemier, Barna, and Sanders. Sanders also made a number of clutch plays at shortstop.

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Piedmont fell behind in the 4^th inning as St. Mary’s scored the first run.  In the top of the fifth, Spanier led off with a double to center field.  Lucas Derr bunted Spanier to third, and Barna singled to tie the game. In the bottom of the 5^th, St. Mary’s re-took the lead without the benefit of a base hit, scoring on an error, bunt, and two fielder’s choices, the second in a run-down on a double steal attempt. Down 2-1 in the top of the 7th, Lucas Derr launched a clutch home run to left field to tie the game. In the bottom of the 7^th, St. Mary’s combined a walk and 3 singles into the walk-off win.

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Upcoming games include Mt. Eden twice, away on Tuesday, 3/26, and home on Friday, 3/29. The Highlanders also play on Saturday, 3/30, at home against St. Joseph-Notre Dame.

Photos by Julie Moll