Baseball Game Preview: Wood Wildcats vs. Napa Grizzlies

The Wood Wildcats will head out on the road to square off against the Napa Grizzlies at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Wood will be strutting in after a win while Napa will be coming in after a defeat.

Wood will bounce into Friday's match after beating Vanden, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. The Wildcats narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past the Vikings 3-1.

Keegan Pierce

Base on Balls Against

04/05/25 vs Clayton Valley Charter	3
03/13/25 @ Vacaville	2
02/28/25 @ Benicia	2
03/27/25 vs Pioneer	1
03/20/25 @ River City	1

Keegan Pierce spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered a run (which was unearned) on three hits and racked up seven Ks. He also tossed no walks, which is notable because Wood is 4-1 when he allows at most one walk, but 4-10 otherwise.

On the hitting side, Tristan Drummond and Bryan Smith did most of the damage at the plate: Drummond went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and one RBI, while Smith scored a run and stole three bases. That's the most hits Drummond has posted since back in February. Jared Oliver was another key player, going 1-for-2 with one triple and one run.

Meanwhile, Napa was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They came up short against Petaluma, falling 12-2. That's two games in a row now that the Grizzlies have lost by exactly ten runs.

Wood's win bumped their record up to 8-11. As for Napa, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-12.

Wood couldn't quite get it done against Napa when the teams last played back in March of 2024 as they fell 7-3. Can the Wildcats avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.