Trying to capture its first Foothill League win of the year on Monday, Golden Valley baseball hosted Hart in a makeup game after Friday’s game was rescheduled due to rain.
Senior pitcher Daniel Goodwin started the game on the mound for the Grizzlies, throwing 2 2/3 innings while Bryson James finished the game. The two combined to give up four hits in a 3-0 shutout win against Hart.
“We are all better, not just on the mound,” said Golden Valley head coach Matt Sorensen. “From the summer to the fall, our winter and now in spring, everything we have done this year, we just continue to get better from top to bottom.”
Golden Valley (5-5 overall, 1-2 in Foothill League) got its first opportunity to bring in a run in the bottom of the second inning after Joe Behan singled down the left field line and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Logan Rightmyer.
Steven Moreno was walked and Nico Marino was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out for Goodwin.
Connecting with a ball, Goodwin singled on a fielder’s choice, bringing in Behan from third base for the game’s first run.
“This is the first time I’ve gotten a hit in a game,” Goodwin said. “I’m pretty pumped up. It was pretty cold. I could barely feel my hands, but I got through it.”
Another run crossed the plate after Hart was charged with an error on the throw from third, allowing Moreno to score putting Golden Valley ahead 2-0.
In the top of the third inning, after striking out Angelo Lucchese and getting Pat Arman to ground out to second then walking Ryan Benz, Goodwin was pulled in favor of James.
Benz was caught stealing second and the Grizzlies got out of the side unscathed.
Leading off the bottom of the third inning, James singled to right field. He stole second and then scored with two outs after a Rightmyer RBI single into center field.
Hart (5-6, 1-3) answered with two back-to-back singles to lead off the fourth inning by Kendall Thomas and David Holuby, but were stranded on base after James got the next three batters out to end the inning.
James struck out three batters over the course of 4 1/3 innings to finish the game and helped the Grizzlies get their first Foothill League win in 19 games dating back to last season.
“Coming into the final innings, I kind of struggled up there, but I held them and didn’t allow them to score,” James said. “We had good opposite hits today and got three runs on them which was really clutch. I think we just have to hit the ball on the ground more and find the gaps and I think we will be fine.”
Rocco Saldivar was 2-for-3 from the plate and Daniel Parra finished the game throwing two innings and striking out four for the Indians.
“Our pitching has been okay, but we have to score more runs,” said Hart head coach Jim Ozella. “If you get no runs then it puts a lot of pressure on your defense and on your pitching. It’s where we are right now and we will try to generate more runs.”
Both teams are back in action on Wednesday as Hart hosts Saugus while Golden Valley travels to Valencia. Both games begin at 3:30 p.m.
