College of Marin Baseball started their Bay Valley Conference season the right way with a 7-1 "home" victory over the Napa Valley Storm on Thursday. Marin hosted the game at Santa Rosa Junior College and received a practically perfect start by Sophomore Nick Roth. He retired the first 21 batters he faced before yielding a single to start off the eighth. The Mariners took a lead early on and never relinquished it on the path to a 7-1 victory.
Roth retired the first three Napa hitters via a pop out, strike out and flyout before his teammates gave him a lead in the bottom of the first. With one away Anthony Pomilia lined a single. Landen Moran followed with a single to left that was bobbled, allowing Pomilia to score all the way from first. Moran ended up on third and came home on a single by Nicholas Caravello for a 2-0 Mariners lead.
Roth retired the next nine hitters but the Mariners failed to score in the second and third innings. Back to back doubles plated a run for Marin in the fourth as Will Langan drove in Oscar Urbina for a 3-0 lead. Pomilia doubled to lead off the fifth, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly by Moran to up the lead to 4-0.
Roth retired the side in the sixth and seventh in order while the Mariners added single runs in the bottom half of the sixth and seventh innings as well.
Leading 6-0, Roth finally surrendered a base runner as Napa's Carter Pennington knocked a clean single to start off the eighth. With one out another single put two on but a ground out and flyout ended the threat and preserved the Mariners' lead.
Pomilia plated Jacob Berg with a single in the bottom of the eighth to give Marin a touchdown's lead 7-0.
Matthew Lozovoy relieved Roth to start the ninth inning and put a runner on second with one out. A single plated a run for Napa, but the Mariners' closer induced a double play to end the game.
Roth deservedly earned the win as he hurled eight shutout innings, and allowed just two hits with eight strikeouts. Pomilia had three hits, an RBI and two runs scored while Berg had two hits including a triple, a run and an RBI.
Rainouts and field conditions have made it difficult for the Mariners to play their scheduled games of late. Next on the schedule is another home game in Santa Rosa against the Mendocino College Eagles on Tuesday, March 12th at 2:30PM.