Valley 10-11s finish season a win short

The Petaluma Valley 10-11-year-old Little League All-Star team reached the precipice of Valley League history only to be knocked off the mountain by Lafayette in the Section 1 Tournament played in Concord.

The Valley defeated Woodland, 6-2, in its opening game and then recorded a wild 10-7 win over Lafeyette in its second contest. That moved the Petalumans just one win from advancement to the Northern California championship Tournament.

That win never happened, as Lafeyette battled back for 5-2 and 11-1 wins to send the Valley home with a 2-2 section record after they had battled to the District 35 championship.

It was a tough way to end the season for a team that had to battle back through the losers’ bracket to win the the District 35 Tournament and qualify for sectional competition.

After losing to Petaluma National, 10-3, in the winners’ bracket semifinals of district play, the Valley rebounded to beat their Petaluma rivals twice, 5-2 and 16-5, to claim the pennant and move on to sectionals.

In section play, the Valley drew a first-round bye and then knocked off Woodland, 6-2. A l0-7 win over Lafayette advanced the Petalumans to the championship game. Lafayette, meanwhile, fought its way back by beating Mill Valley 7-3 and ended the Valley dream and season with the back-to-back wins.

Lucas Schaefer hit a home run for the Valley in the first championship effort against Lafayette, but it wasn’t enough against the defensive-minded opposition.

“They made some incredible defensive plays,” noted Valley manager Paul Smedshammer. “Everytime we started to get something going, they would make a great play. Their shortstop made some incredible plays.

The second title game ended after four innings with the Valley getting just two hits.

Even with the losses, Smedshammer was pleased with his team. “It was really a great run,” he said. “It is a great group of kids and a great group of parents.

Members of the team are Zane Bennett, Esteban Bermudez, vincent Glaviano, Rory Morgan, Gavin Ochoa,Nicholas Orella, Miguel robertson, Schaefer, Max Smedshammer, Mario Taormina, Nick Taormina, and Robert Terry.