The Marin County Athletic League (MCAL) baseball championship is not supposed to last two days. It is not supposed to end with the stadium lights shutting off and sprinklers spraying the outfield while players still stand on the field. But on Friday night, May 15, at Albert Park in San Rafael, and continuing Saturday afternoon, May 16, at Moody Field, that is exactly what happened. The Giants fell to the Novato Hornets 9-8 in a dramatic 15-inning thriller that became one of the most memorable championship games in MCAL history.
With nearly 2,000 fans in attendance, the game at Albert Park reached the 11th inning, before being suspended due to local noise and time restrictions. The electric energy from the crowd made for a tense and exciting matchup, as fans stuck out the game through four and a half hours, with a large crowd returning the following day.
The title game turned into a 15-inning marathon filled with momentum shifts, clutch hits and constant pressure that pushed both teams past their limits, all beginning in the first inning.
First inning:
In the top half of the first inning, the Hornets got off to a scorching start, tallying three straight walks, followed by a passed ball by senior catcher Ethan Ferry, to make the score 1-0. Giants starting pitcher junior Maxim Wells was pulled from the game after recording one-third of an inning, having thrown 23 pitches with only seven strikes. Senior captain Jake Post entered in relief for Wells, and retired the side, limiting the damage. The Hornets still tacked on a run with a run batted in (RBI) bloop single to right field before Post got out of the inning, leaving Redwood down 2-0.
In the bottom half, the Giants showed they were not going to go away quietly as Ferry singled to right field and Wells followed with another single. Junior Chase Johnson then doubled down the left field line to score a run and pull the Giants within one. But the inning ended there, with Santa Clara-commit senior Jack Moseley striking out and junior Noah Gersch popping out to second, leaving it 2-1 Novato after the first inning.
Second inning:
Following an eventful first inning, Post proved dominant, retiring three batters in a row and getting out of the inning in less than 10 pitches.
The Giants offense was able to produce hits off of starting pitcher and Ole Miss-commit JP Harmon, as sophomore Rowan Borghuis reached safely on an infield single, leading to senior Theo Trono crushing a double that one-hopped the left field fence, scoring Borghuis from first. As the score evened out at 2-2, the Giants fell quietly, as Harmon retired the rest of the batters in the inning.
Third inning:
Novato was able to reclaim the lead in the third after a bloop single by Novato’s senior Cohen Garcia, and Hornet senior Trevor Cleary launched a ball to deep center field. Johnson tracked it down and fired from deep to home plate, but catcher Ferry could not swing around to tag the runner in time, allowing Novato to reclaim a 3-2 lead. A groundout brought the middle of the third inning.
Redwood had a few chances in the bottom half as Wells reached on a second baseman’s error, sophomore Drew Weinberg came in to pinch run and Gersch and sophomore Landon Brunk both drew walks to load the bases with two outs. But Post struck out, leaving all three runners on base, a moment that may have changed the outcome of the entire ballgame.
Fourth inning:
The fourth inning was defined by one powerful swing. Novato senior Hunter Lynch crushed a home run to left-center field, extending the Hornets’ lead to 4-2. Post retired the side around it, but the damage had been done and the Hornets led by two.
The Giants threatened the Hornets again in the second part of the inning when Borghuis launched a double to left-center field, and Trono followed with a groundout that moved him to third. But Ferry and Wells both failed to bring him home, and a strikeout closed the inning with Borghuis standing on third. The score remained 4-2.
Fifth inning:
Post continued to pitch well, and the Giants defense bailed him out early when sophomore Tommy Moseley tagged third base to retire a Hornet runner attempting to advance.
The Giants then put together their best offensive sequence of the game to that point. Johnson walked and Jack Moseley blooped a single into right-center field. Gersch laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners to second and third with one out. But pinch hitter sophomore Max Morozoff struck out to end the inning and stranded two runners in a pivotal missed opportunity.
Sixth inning:
Entering the sixth, Post continued to breeze through the Hornet offense, striking out two batters, and retiring the side in order. The Giants led off with Trono, who walked, but Harmon quickly shut down their offense, striking out three batters in a row, adding to his dominant outing.
Seventh inning:
Nearing 100 pitches, Post remained unaffected and with the help of the Giants defense, the Hornets were unable to find any gaps which led to a three-up, three-down inning.
With the game on the line, the heart of the Giants order looked to keep their season alive. Manager Mike Firenzi gathered the Giants in a team huddle as a last push for the offense to deliver. Leading off, Johnson notched a single through the left side of the infield, giving the team life in this crucial inning. Harmon’s fatigue had gotten to him, as he threw a wild pitch, advancing Johnson to second, which was immediately followed by a hit-by-pitch to Jack Moseley. Coming in clutch for the Giants, Gersch laced an RBI single to right-center field, sparking a late-inning rally. The excitement cooled off for the team, as Brunk and Post retired quickly, leaving runners at the corners for Borghuis. In a situation that many kids dream of performing in, Borghuis stepped into the batter’s box with the game on the line. The sophomore rose to the occasion, lining a single through the gap on the right side of the infield, scoring the tying run for the Giants, as the crowd lit up celebrating. With a runner still on second base, Trono was intentionally walked, giving Ferry an opportunity to extend the Giants rally and send the fans home. However, he struck out, sending the game into extra innings.
Eighth inning:
As the high school game reached into extra innings, both pitching staffs were able to settle in for a quiet eighth inning. Novato managed to reach first base on an error committed by Tommy Moseley, but could not push a run across, as Trono fielded two groundouts at second base to help Post get through the inning unharmed. Post proved dominant, as he reached 111 pitches, recording a 0.91 earned run average across seven and two-thirds innings, while also striking out eight Hornets.
The Giants went three-up, three-down in the bottom half, as Wells, Johnson and Jack Moseley’s bats went quiet, and the game remained knotted at 4-4 heading to the ninth.
Ninth inning:
Jack Moseley, who had taken over on the mound for Redwood, worked through a tense ninth inning. Trono opened it with a diving backward catch on a pop fly for the first out. Jack Moseley walked a batter on a full count, then recovered to strike out the next batter he faced. But, Jack Moseley then threw a wild pitch over Ferry’s head, advancing the Hornet baserunner to second, and escaped the inning by striking out the batter.
In the bottom of the ninth, sophomore Danny Alvarez reached first on a bunt after the Novato catcher bobbled the ball, and senior Willy Steel was caught in a rundown pickle between second and third for the out. Borghuis flew out to center field to end the inning. No score was added to the board, and the game proceeded further into extra innings.
10th inning:
The tenth inning was the first time Novato truly pulled away in extras. Senior Hornet CJ Castro reached on a slide into first off a bunt, a pickoff attempt to first was called safe on interference and a passed ball moved a runner to third. A suicide squeeze by Novato’s Harmon gave the Hornets a 5-4 lead.
The Giants pushed back in the bottom of the inning when Trono drove a ball to right field and stretched it into a triple. Ferry followed with an RBI to tie the game at 5-5. But Wells struck out and Johnson lined out to first, which doubled off Ferry at second to end Redwood’s offensive threat, continuing the extra innings with a score of 5-5 after ten.
11th inning:
The 11th inning was when everything almost fell apart for the Giants, and then nearly came back together stunning the crowd and the teams alike.
Novato opened the inning with a single to left-center field and Jack Moseley walked a hitter putting two runners on with no outs. Redwood regained momentum for a brief moment when Jack Moseley struck out Cohen Garcia for the first out of the inning, but the damage followed suit. Cleary launched a ball deep to center field for his third RBI hit of the game, driving in two runners and sliding safely into third base as Novato reclaimed a 7-5 lead.
Moments later, a ball got past Ferry which allowed Cleary to score from third, extending the Hornets’ advantage to 8-5 and silencing the Giants’ crowd.
But the Giants refused to let the game slip away that easily and that deep into the battle. Gersch drew a walk to begin the bottom half before Brunk crushed a two-run home run over the left field fence, cutting the deficit to one run and reigniting the Giants’ dugout and student section. Alvarez later struck out, leaving Redwood down to what would have been their final out of the ballgame.
With the sea of fans, pressure of not letting your team down and one last opportunity, Borghuis lined a single into center field, bringing some life back to the team. Trono followed with a towering RBI double to deep left field, scoring Borghuis and evening the game at 8-8 as the crowd erupted at roughly 11:25 p.m.
Novato decided to intentionally walk Ferry, so Wells, who was one for six on the day, stepped into the batter’s box with a hope to win the championship. Wells walked off four balls, creating a bases-loaded end of game situation. All the Giants needed was to advance the runner from third to home and they would win the MCAL championship. Two outs, bottom of the 11th, bases juiced, Johnson steps into the batter’s box with severe leg cramps that have been worked on throughout the latter half of the evening by Athletic Trainer Americ Alvarado. All eyes on Johnson, he grounded out directly to first, ending what may have been one of the MCAL’s greatest baseball innings in history.
After 11 hard-fought innings, the contest at Albert Park was suspended due to local noise and time restrictions. As the Giants defense trotted onto the field, the irrigation system turned on, activating the sprinklers in the outfield and creating a surreal ending to the opening night of the championship game.
The game was quickly announced to be at 1:00 P.M. the following afternoon at Redwood’s own Moody Field as they were the home team for the championship game.
12th inning:
Starting fresh in the 12th inning, both teams looked to gather any offensive production they could, after a night of rest gave each side a chance to reset mentally and physically following the previous day’s marathon battle.
In the top of the 12th, Wells re-entered the game for the Giants after getting pulled in the first inning the day before. Wells struck out the first batter he faced, which was followed up by a four-pitch walk. Lynch scorched a ball over third basemen Tommy Moseley’s glove down the left field line, while the runner on first attempted to advance to third, but was thrown out from a perfectly placed throw by Borghuis. After just two-thirds of an inning, Wells was replaced by senior Jack Block, along with sophomore Danny Alvarez replacing Tommy Moseley at third. Block walked the first batter he faced, and with two runners on, the batter lined a ball to the third baseman Alvarez, who stepped on third base for a force-out to end the inning.
Jack Moseley led off for the Giants in the bottom of the inning, but flew out to right field. Gersch followed by popping a ball up into shallow center field that was caught by the right fielder. Brunk was able to reach base on a walk, but Alvarez struck out swinging, sending the game into the 13th inning.
13th inning:
The Giants kept rolling with Block, who continued to groove his way through the Hornets lineup in a three-up, three-down inning while tacking on a strikeout.
In the bottom of the inning, the Giants quickly fell to two outs from Borghuis and Trono, and just as it seemed the game would be heading into the 14th, Ferry blooped a single into right, followed by Wells who punched a ball up the middle, putting a runner into scoring position. However, Johnson grounded out to second base to conclude the inning, as more offensive woes impacted the Giants.
14th inning:
The Hornets began the 14th inning with a base hit to center field. Novato then attempted to bunt, but Block sprinted toward home plate and caught the lead runner advancing to second before Trono threw to first, although the batter beat the throw. The next hit was sent into right field, where Borghuis dove to record the second out of the inning. The following play put runners on first and second as Novato was able to shoot a ground ball through the left infield gap. However, the Hornets’ offensive pressure ended when Johnson fielded a pop fly to send the game to the bottom of the 14th.
To begin the bottom half, Jack Moseley hit a flare over the shortstop’s head, reaching first. Gersch then successfully bunted into a force out to advance Moseley to second base and put the Giants in scoring position. The Hornets intentionally walked Brunk, placing runners on first and second. Alvarez then laid down a bunt along the first base line, allowing Moseley to reach third and Brunk to second. With the game on the line and the crowd on its feet, Borghuis bounced a ball to right field and was thrown out at first, ending the inning.
15th inning:
Heading into the 15th, tension was at an all-time high as both teams were desperately looking for a way to score. The Hornets offense struck first as Garcia launched a double down the left field line. A sacrifice bunt was fielded by Block, who made the out at first, but the runner advanced to third, further building the Hornets’ momentum. With a chance to score the go-ahead run, Novato delivered, as Cleary smoked an RBI single into left field to take a 9-8 lead. Block was able to get consecutive flyouts to end the inning, while the championship lay in the hands of the top of the Giants order.
The Giants had their most productive player of the game up in Trono, who launched the first pitch to deep left field, just feet away from clearing the outfield fence. Trono reached second base with some discomfort, as he had been battling a recurring leg injury in previous games, leaving Firenzi with the decision to enter junior Logan Scully as the pinch runner.
With Ferry up, the Giants looked to tie the game and position themselves for a walk-off win. To some surprise, Ferry was given the green light to bunt, causing him to fall behind in the count, and with two strikes, Ferry squared to bunt again, but missed the ball on a hanging curveball from Lynch. Suddenly, Hornets catcher Gio Castaing leapt up and fired the ball down to second base, catching Scully off guard, as he slid back to the bag too late, and was doubled off. The series of critical errors cost the Giants, as they went from having the game-tying run in scoring position, to being one out away from facing elimination.
Wells stepped to the plate, lining a ball into center field, giving the Giants some hope, in a moment that silenced the entire dugout. Johnson followed with a line-drive single to center, moving Wells to third and bringing the winning run to the plate. Stepping into the batter’s box, Jack Moseley faced the biggest at-bat of the Giants’ season, with the fate of the MCAL championship game in his hands. Moseley was able to work the count, taking two balls and fouling off two pitches. With two strikes in the bottom of the 15th and the tying and winning runs on base, Moseley hammered a ball down the left field line. For a moment, the entire stadium fell silent. The ball landed only feet from the foul line, and was ruled foul, on a hit that would have likely won the Giants the championship. On the next pitch, Lynch blew a fastball past Moseley, causing him to strike out swinging, ending the 15-inning marathon in a heartbreaking fashion for the Giants.
Despite coming up short of the MCAL title, this game had it all. Two stadiums, six hours of baseball, two home runs and a surprise sprinkler appearance, the Giants gave it everything they had. Coming back from three different deficits, going from 4-2, 5-4 and 8-5 across the game, the Giants refused to give up, even in moments where the game seemed over. The Giants fought to the end, and will continue their fight as they will face the Campolindo Cougars in the North Coast Section Division I playoff at Redwood on Tuesday, May 19, at 5 p.m.
