Empire baseball teams vying for Rabinovitz tournament title

Early spring in Sonoma County is marked by April showers and - if you are a high school baseball fan - the A.L. Rabinovitz Tournament. The 24th annual edition of the tournament showcases eight North Coast Section baseball teams each playing three games in two days across four fields in Santa Rosa.

This year's crop of teams includes five Redwood Empire schools - Montgomery (4-7), Piner (5-7-1), Windsor (5-4), Maria Carrillo (6-4) and Ukiah (3-7). The other three teams are Northgate (9-1) of Walnut Creek, Lincoln (6-5) of Stockton and Chico (9-5).

“This year's field is the strongest we have had in years,” tournament director Mickey Rabinovitz said. “Running this tournament is rewarding and the kids love it.”

Rabinovitz, a former baseball coach at Montgomery, is carrying on the tradition of running the tournament, which was formerly called the Montgomery Invitational. It was renamed the A.L. Rabinovtiz Tournament after Mickey's parents - Al and Leona - passed away.

“At this point, running the tournament is a family thing,” Rabinovitz said. “It's the only baseball tournament around here like it.”

Each team is guaranteed to play three games - two were played on Tuesday and the last one Wednesday. Teams are divided into championship and consolation brackets based on the results of their first games.

The slate of Wednesday's games includes:

Maria Carrillo against Chico in the championship bracket title game at 3:30 p.m. at Montgomery; Windsor facing Northgate in the third-place game at 11 a.m. at Doyle Park; Montgomery against Lincoln in the consolation bracket title game (for fifth place) at 12:30 p.m. at Montgomery; and Piner facing Ukiah in the seventh-place game at 10 a.m. at Montgomery.

Results for Redwood Empire schools in Tuesday's action include:

Maria Carrillo, 2-0 with a 6-4 win against Lincoln and a 6-5 win against Northgate.

In the win against Lincoln, Maria Carrillo's Brian Orr had a two-run single in the bottom of the 6th inning to break a 4-4 tie and give Pumas starter Cade Sheets the victory. Sheets pitched six innings and overcame a slow start after giving up three runs in the first four innings.

“Lincoln had a couple of key hits with two outs early,” Maria Carrillo coach Sam Bruno said. “Sheets had a bit of a rocky start, but kept us in the game.”

Zeke Brockley came in the top of the 7th inning to lock down the save. Maria Carrillo's Connor Charpiot went 3-4 with a double and an RBI.

In the nightcap, the Pumas overcame a 5-0 deficit after five innings to pull out the comeback win. Maria Carrillo scored two runs in the bottom of the 6th inning and four runs in the 7th. The winning run came when Puma batter Bryce Cannon was hit by a curveball with one out and the bases loaded. Cannon was dogpiled by teammates at first base and was credited with the game-winning RBI.

“It was quite a comeback,” Bruno said. “We showed a lot of heart and desire.”

Windsor, 1-1 with a 10-1 win against Piner and a 5-4 loss to Chico.

Against the Prospectors, the Jaguars raked 11 hits - led by Cameron Hayman, who went 3-5 with 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Windsor starter Cyrus Soltanizadeh earned the victory with a strong five innings.

“It was a great pitching performance by Cyrus. He was just good. He kept challenging their hitters,” Windsor coach Dave Avila said. “We played really clean defense behind him.”

In the loss to Chico, Windsor led 4-3 going into the 7th inning, but the Panthers rallied for a couple of clutch hits with two outs to plate two runs for the win.

“Chico can hit. They are a really good team,” Avila said. “I thought we played good baseball today. We just let that second one get away late. It would have been nice to win two, but we are looking forward to getting back out there on Wednesday.”

Montgomery, 1-1 with a 3-2 loss to Chico and a 12-7 win against Piner.

Against Chico, the Vikings held a 2-1 lead going into the 7th inning, but the Panthers scored two runs to pull out the win. Montgomery starter A.J. Westergaard took the loss going six innings and giving up three runs.

The Vikings' offense was led by Blake McDonald (1-3, double), Dano Lopez (1-3, double, RBI), and Cade Barnett (1-2, triple, run scored).

“It was a well-played game. Both starters pitched well,” Montgomery coach Zac Ward said. “Chico had some key hits when they needed them. They are well coached.”

The Vikings bounced back against the Prospectors, aided by half a dozen errors by Piner.

Montgomery trailed 6-2 going into the bottom of the 3rd inning but rallied for three runs highlighted by McDonald's two-run triple to narrow the gap to 6-5. A five-run 6th inning gave the Vikings the victory.

“I am happy after a tough loss that the kids continued to hit well and earned a comeback victory,” Ward said.

McDonald finished 2-3 with a triple, walk, 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Barnett went 3-4 with 2 runs scored and Westergaard was 2-4 with a triple and an RBI.

Ukiah, 0-2 with a 4-1 loss to Northgate and a 4-0 loss to Lincoln.

Against the Broncos, Wildcats batters had a difficult time getting clutch hits.

“Northgate's starter commanded multiple pitches on both sides of the plate,” Ukiah coach Stephen Summers said. “We had guys on base and opportunities. We just didn't string together any hits.”

Ukiah starter Jordan Smith went six innings and gave up two earned runs and six hits. Adrian Villalpondo (2-4, RBI) and Grant Miller (2-3) led the Wildcats' offense.

In the loss to Lincoln, Ukiah's bats fell silent as the Wildcats only managed three hits.

“We just didn't play well offensively. We hit a lot of fly balls,” Summers said. “We got beat in the first game and we lost the second game and there is a difference.”

Ukiah starter Carter Duncan took the loss, tossing five innings and giving up five hits and two earned runs.

Piner, 0-2 with a 10-1 loss to Windsor and a 12-7 loss to Montgomery.

“It was a rough day defensively overall,” Piner coach Nick Green said. “Our pitchers fell behind on counts and we were pitching from behind all day. That is not a recipe for winning.”

Against the Vikings, the defensive wheels came off for Piner, which averaged an error an inning.

“We just aren't making plays on defense right now.” Green said. “We hit well for us, but we had zero defense today.”

Against the Vikings, Ukiah's Brayden Stephens went 4-4 with an RBI and 2 runs scored.

“It was the best day of his career so far,” Green said of the sophomore.