Prep baseball: Redwood falls into early hole in section playoffs

The Redwood High baseball team spotted powerful Benicia a five-run first inning lead in an opener of the North Coast Section Division I playoffs Tuesday.

That was more than a mere hole the Giants dug themselves. They might have had better luck digging a tunnel with a teaspoon.

Needless to say, No. 11-seed Redwood (18-9-1) beat a hasty retreat from the NCS playoffs in a 9-5 loss to No. 6 Benicia (17-8) on a pleasant early evening in Larkspur.

The most surprising aspect of the game might have been the release of the starting lineups

Redwood’s best pitcher all season, Matthew Knauer, did not get the starting call.

Redwood coach Mike Firenzi never blinked when asked why.

“We’re trying to use (Knauer) twice this week,” Firenzi said. “We’re playing to win this thing, not just win one game. There’s no prize for one win in the playoffs.”

The Panthers flexed their muscles in the first, chasing starting pitcher Jack Moseley after only a third of an inning.

A leadoff double by Benicia shortstop Peyton Rowles – a .455 hitter – and three consecutive one-out walks opened the door for the Panthers’ first-inning outburst.

“We lost to a good team,” Firenzi said. “That’s a D-1 team, but the rankings don’t measure heart. We came out and fought. You only have to beat any of these teams one time, not in a seven-game series.”

Redwood refused to buckle, even trailing 9-3 entering the seventh inning. The Giants scored two in their last at-bats on a run-scoring sacrifice fly by Sam Gersch and an RBI double by Moseley.

“All season, all this team did was fight,” said senior Sam Gersch, who drove in two runs. “Coach told us the first second we stepped on this field that talent would only take us so far. He told us we have to work hard and build spirit.”

Trailing 6-1 in the fourth – after relievers Jack Gurley and Knauer (he entered in the third) calmed down the Benicia bats a bit – the Giants hinted at a comeback with a two-run fourth.

Designated hitter Miles Harrison lined a one-out single to center, sophomore first baseman Chase Johnson walked and outfielder TJ Beck singled to center to load the bases.

Harrison scored from third on a wild pitch and shortstop Lucas Ghio plated Johnson from third with a sac fly to right.

Knauer, who retired six of seven after taking over in the third, rolled through an easy fifth to put the Giants quickly back at the plate with the top of the order coming up.

Firenzi thought that was a key moment in the game.

“We get a shutdown inning and then the top of the order,” Firenzi said. “But we go quietly.”

The Panthers cashed in when No. 3 hitter Myles Cooper came up with the bases loaded in the sixth and cleared the bags with a deep double to left-center field.

Gersch said the team believed it was capable of making a run deep into the NCS playoffs, despite drawing top foes in Division I.

“Our eyes were on the championship,” Gersch said. “We knew we could beat anybody on a good day.”