The long wait is finally over for Napa High School.

The Indians scored eight runs in an explosive first inning and rode Chad Albrecht’s one-hit pitching gem to a 10-0 win over visiting Vintage Friday to capture their first Monticello Empire League baseball championship in 30 years.

That’s correct — it’s Napa’s first pennant since the 1977 season, when coach Clint Smith, who’s in the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame, was running the program.

“It is a long time,” said Todd Pridy, Napa’s coach and a Hall of Famer himself from the Class of 1989.

“This is very gratifying to watch. It’s rewarding to me to see them have success. The amazing thing is the potential of this squad. We knew it from the beginning — the capability to do great things is in this group.

“At the beginning of the season we kind of worked through some bumps and bruises and then it just started to come at the right time and they just started to jell as a club. The pitching has been solid all year, and the offensive potential that we were talking to them about all year has kind of woken up here in the last couple of weeks. It’s very exciting.”

The win — the 10th in a row for Napa (17-9 overall, 11-4 MEL) after an 0-3 start to the MEL season — also gives the Indians the league’s No. 1 seed for the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I North playoffs, which start May 19 at American River College-Sacramento. The Indians open the tournament at 7:30 p.m. against Elk Grove, the No. 3 team out of the Delta Valley Conference.

In other MEL action, Vacaville beat Wood 8-6 last night at Travis Credit Union Park to give the Bulldogs a co-championship.

Vacaville will be the league’s No. 2 seed based on Napa’s 2-1 record against the Bulldogs.

Jason Westerberg’s single with two out in the fifth inning drove in Ryan Kostecka from second base with Napa’s 10th run, ending the rivalry game on account of the mercy rule with a big crowd looking on. The Indians celebrated near home plate, then posed for team pictures near their dugout.

It marked Napa’s final home game of the year. The Indians will be on the road the rest of the year, as the section conducts its playoffs at a neutral site.

“They did what they needed to do at the end,” said Vintage coach Rich Anderson. “I think it’s great for them. I’m really happy for Todd. If someone was going to come get the MEL title after 30 years, I’m glad it was Todd, being a player here. He went through some good times when he was a player, but he’s gone through some tough times as a coach.

“They’re just a superior team by far right now. They earned it. They’ve got some great athletes, some great competitors. I hope they do really well in the playoffs.”

Pridy batted .476 on Napa’s 1988 CIF Sac-Joaquin Section title team, which was coached by Mike Brown. But the Indians were the MEL’s second-place team that year, finishing behind Vacaville.

“Being a coach, it’s humbling and challenging,” said Pridy, who has one of the hottest teams in the area going into postseason play. “The seniors stood up and pushed this group forward. I cannot say enough about these young men.”

Napa’s offense picked right up where it left off on Wednesday, when it outslugged Vintage, 27-14, in one of the highest-scoring games in Napa County prep history. The Indians had seven hits in the first inning, with the first six batters reaching base.

“Right now we’re going to enjoy this over the weekend,” said Kostecka, Napa’s leadoff hitter and center fielder. “But it’s back to business like always Monday. Everyone is always competing, that’s what we love to do — we love to compete. We’re a bunch of competitors who hate losing.”

Kostecka was 2-for-4 with a triple, two-run single and three runs scored, Mike Santora was 2-for-4 with a double, three RBIs and a run, Robbie Steen was 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs, Nick Placone was 2-for-3 with a run, and Ted LeMasters, who has been on the varsity team since his freshman year, was 1-for-3.

“This is huge — for the senior class, the entire team and Napa High. It feels great,” said LeMasters. “I’m just glad I get to be a part of it and get Coach Pridy his first MEL championship. There’s good things going on at Napa High. We’re hoping that we continue on our journey here. We’re hoping to continue that — maybe we can get another section (title) for him.”

The title continues a great run of success in the spring for Napa, which has already won MEL girls soccer, softball and boys golf titles. It also increases Napa’s chances at winning the MEL school-of-the-year pennant.

“Napa High sports have been having a great year,” said LeMasters. “We’re just happy to keep it going.”

Albrecht was dominant, going five innings, striking out nine and walking two. Nate Azevedo’s two-out single in the fifth inning broke up Albrecht’s bid for a no-hitter. He had good control with all three pitches — fastball, curveball and split-finger fastball.

“Coming into this we really wanted it,” said Albrecht. “We really were determined to get it. I felt good today. It’s all been coming together. We’ve got to bring it when we go (to playoffs). We plan on going somewhere, because we’ve really worked for this.”

Albrecht took a hard-hit ball off his leg, but fielded the ball and threw out Quin Donahue in the third inning.

Making Napa’s title all the more sweeter was that some of the players from the ’77 team were on hand Friday.

“These kids have worked so hard, basically since the end of football season,” said John Steen, a member of the ’77 team, whose son Robbie plays first base and bats fourth. 

Anderson started six seniors — Robin Groom, Thomas Lyall, Jordan Long, Caleb Pagliero, Will Magro and Nate Azevedo — and praised them for their efforts.

“Everyone of them handled themselves like young men,” Anderson said. “All of those guys really represented themselves well. They handled themselves through some tough times impressively.”

Vintage finished 7-19 overall, 4-11 in the MEL.