Do you ever find yourself in a situation where even if you have not followed a team or sport extensively, you find yourself getting swept up in celebrating the team’s success?
That is exactly where I found myself the past month or so as it pertained to the Napa High softball team. I am not a Napa High alum but I have lived 38 of 44 years of my life in Napa. As a native, I could not have been happier to see the Indians reach the summit of the CIF Sac Joaquin Section Div. II mountain in defeating Del Campo 9-8 on Friday at the Arnaiz Complex in Sacramento. I support all Napa Valley athletic programs from American Canyon to the South to Calistoga to the North.
Napa capped its season going 21-8-1 with eight consecutive wins. Wood (Vacaville) won the Monticello Empire League, going 11-4. Napa finished tied with Vacaville for second place, going 10-5. The Indians earned the tiebreaker based on beating Vacaville in two of three regular season meetings.
After a 2-0 loss to Wood on May 3, Napa dropped to 13-8-1 but won its last three regular season games (7-6 over Vacaville; 4-1 over Vintage and 16-0 over Armijo) to earn the No. 8 seed in the SJS Div. II bracket. The Indians opened the postseason defeating No. 9 Bella Vista 4-1. I’ve seen the narrative play out numerous times in a 16-team bracket. The No. 8 vs. No. 9 winner often ends up being the sacrificial lamb for the No. 1 seed.
Except this time.
Napa defeated No. 1 seeded Elk Grove 4-1 followed by Vacaville (8-0). The Indians then upended Del Campo 5-4 on Thursday and the aforementioned 9-8 win on Friday.
I spent 18 years as a sports reporter for the Napa Valley Register before changing careers in December 2014. I have, however, continued my passion for writing via this blog and helping the Register with football coverage. Sports not named football, I have only stayed sporadically connected to but every now and then on my way home from work I’ll catch a baseball or softball game.
I hearken back to the week of April 16-22 when I was on vacation from work. It was a staycation actually. I decided to stop by and watch the softball edition of Big Game between Napa and Vintage. The Indians won that contest 8-1. Little did I know that one month or so later, this team would reach the mountaintop.
Napa’s softball section title is significant for a few reasons. For openers, the school has a handful of distractions with the football team’s hazing incidents and subsequent resignation of head coach Troy Mott and staff. The good news there is Jesus Martinez, former Indians quarterback and long-time assistant coach who graduated in 2004, has been named the new head coach. There is also the desire by the district to change the mascot name. Both incidents have led to incendiary school board meetings.
Translation, Napa’s softball success has been a happy pill in difficult times.
Baseball/softball is a strange game where a player will actually fail more times than succeed. It’s the ability to rebound from striking out or having a hard hit ball find a glove that matters most. The sport is also a strange game in that regular season and postseason success is not new to the Indians in softball. They had plenty in the recent past under the likes of Jerry Kime, John O’Connor, Ron Walston and now Tammie Mansuy -- who is skillfully assisted by coach DeAnna Bowers. Napa had more than a handful of seasons where it was the higher seed in the postseason but for whatever reason fell short. Also, even though most people know Les Franco as a football coach (1979-1989 for Napa; 2000-2006 for Vintage), he was also the Indians softball coach.
In lieu of Napa’s success, I am constantly reminded of the narrative of covering winning teams, even though I’m not as actively involved as a writer like it was my profession. Since I have changed careers, I consider myself a writer more so than a member of the media in that I’m not looking to break stories. I have opinions, I share them. I have memories, I also share them. I have interviews, I also share them.
However, I will put on my media hat for a moment. When journalism was my career, I covered many teams, good and bad. The ones in the former category, I often found myself getting swept up in celebrating their success. I get that the media is supposed to be impartial but I don’t think it’s a matter of being biased. It’s a matter of seeing youngsters put in the work. It’s a matter of seeing coaches prepare them in practice. When the success follows, you are thrilled for them.
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