Big early lead becomes adventure for T-Girls

By the end of the second inning, it was apparent to local fans on Thursday that the varsity softball game between host Petaluma and Ukiah was not going to be a garden-variety contest, as Petaluma held on for a 19-11 victory.

After an extraordinarily long bottom of the inning that lasted more than half an hour, Petaluma had rolled to a 15-0 advantage against two Wildcat pitchers and the wheels began to turn in the T-Girl dugout. Petaluma coach Kurt Jastrow took advantage of the big lead to make wholesale substitutions, including the removal of starting pitcher Emily O’Keefe.

The T-Girls had trotted out 19 batters in a monster rally that featured a grand slam by Joelle Krist and a bases-clearing double off the bat of center fielder Cassie Baddeley.

Jastrow used his entire roster, but as the game progressed, the Lady Wildcats did not go away. The visitors cobbled together a four-run third inning and scored three more runs in each of the next two frames to cut the margin to 15-10, and they still had two runners aboard.

As things began to get even more tense. O’Keefe was summoned back into the game, and she was able to restore a little order by throwing strikes and mixing in several off-speed deliveries.

Petaluma was able to open the gap again with three runs in the bottom of the sixth, highlighted by another RBI off the bat of Baddeley.

Defensively, the T-Girls got a big lift from Emily Corda off the bench as the junior infielder made four strong plays from shortstop, including a short-hop play going toward the bag.

Regular left fielder Lily Ryan also turned in a fine running catch in the third inning when the Wildcats began to slowly claw their way back into the contest. The rally could have cut into the T-Girls’ margin even more. The T-Girl junior also grabbed a short-hop bid for a base hit later and converted it into a force out at third base.

Anna Brazil ripped a three run homer for Ukiah (1-1) and starting pitcher Brooke Wright went three-for-four with a double.

“I was happy with our girls because they battled back, and made the score respectable,” Ukiah coach Gary Venturi noted. The Wildcats were 7-7 last season in the highly competitive North Bay League.

Petaluma improved to 3-1. The heavy-hitting T-Girls have averaged more than 12 runs per game to begin the season.

Krist continued her early season tear with five RBIs to give her a total of 14 in only four games. She played only three frames.

Baddeley helped lead the way for Petaluma with three hits, including a pair of doubles. The senior center fielder, who doesn’t know much about half speed, hustled into second base with a head-first slide in the sixth inning, and tumbled over the fence going full speed in attempting to retrieve a Wildcat homer in the top of the fourth.

Ryan capped a solid outing by scoring three runs going 3-for-4 that included an RBI in the sixth inning.

Petaluma will travel across town to face Casa Grande next Thursday.