PETALUMA SOFTBALL: T-Girls get possible playoff preview in loss

Petaluma stepped up the level of its competition considerably and fell to highly rated Alhambra of Martinez, 8-5, in a crisply executed non-league softball contest played between Division II softball contenders Saturday morning on the Lady Bulldog diamond.

The chief tormentor to the T-Girls was Alhambra sophomore shortstop Brianna Perez, who banged out two off-field home runs and was credited with four RBIs in the victory. Perez struck a three-run homer in the second inning when the hosts took a commanding 4-1 advantage. The slender infielder is schedule to follow her sister to UCLA following the next two seasons.

Petaluma pitcher Emily O’Keefe struggled against the heavy-hitting Bulldogs, who finished with 11 hits and improved to 17-3 for the season. Alhambra leads the Diablo Foothill League with a perfect 8-0 record.

Adding to the Petaluma woes was second baseman Cara DiMercurio, who pulled a long home run over the center-field fence in the fifth frame.

By no means were the T-Girls totally outclassed. After jumping to a one-run led on a single by Lily Ryan, the Petaluma club bounced back from an 8-1 deficit to score three runs in the sixth inning and one more in the seventh.

Ryan posted some impressive numbers, accounting for three hits, including a double and driving in three runs.

“I was happy with the way we came back and made a game of it,” said Petaluma coach Kurt Jastrow. “We proved that we could play with them, and they will have to think about us when the Division II playoffs come around. We played good softball today, and they were a little bit better.”

Jastrow was impressed with the hitting of the Lady Bulldogs. “They really hit the ball from the top of the lineup to the bottom,” he noted. “We will have to mix up our pitches a little more to keep them off stride if we play them again. That’s the reason I scheduled this game. It tells us more about where we are.”

DiMercurio, headed for the University of Oregon, topped the Bulldog offense with three hits. She was hitting a solid .500 going into the game.

Pitcher Shelby Clemons, a 6-foot, 1-inch thrower, went 6? innings to get credit for the Alhambra win. Overall, the T-Girls came away with nine hits and demonstrated a sound approach against good pitching by taking the ball the opposite way.

Center fielder Cassie Baddeley bounced back after being plunked in the elbow by a Clemons pitch but being called back by the home plate umpire for leaning over the plate. Baddeley dusted herself off and rifled a base hit to right field in response. She came back in the seventh frame to single sharply to drive in another Petaluma run.

Baddeley and junior second baseman Kailee Silacci both turned in web gems for the T-Girls. Baddeley made a running grab in center field and Silacci made a lunging catch of a line drive headed for center field.

The T-Girls slipped to 19-3 for the season.

Redwood of Larkspur currently has the best NCS record in Division II play, according to sports site Max Preps, closely followed by Alhambra, Petaluma, Newark Memorial and North Bay League champ Ukiah.

North Coast Section playoffs are only three weeks away. Petaluma will play in the Sonoma County League playoff tournament prior to the Division II playoffs.

Earlier in the week, Petaluma had to work a rare seven innings in a Sonoma County League game, but still handily dispatched Piner, 14-3, in a contest played in Santa Rosa.

In 10 SCL games, all wins, Petaluma has ended seven in five innings because of a rule calling for the game to end at that point if a team is leading by 10 runs or more. Petaluma outscored a pesky Piner team by 11, but didn’t exceed the 10-run margin until the seventh inning.

Piner gave Petaluma a wake-up call early, scoring three runs in the first inning on a long double by Sienna Carretero and back-to-back triples by Meghan Bogges and Mia Meese.

But, after the faltering beginning, Petaluma pitcher O’Keefe settled down and allowed just one hit the rest of the way, although Carretero blasted another long drive in the second inning that was chased down by Petaluma outfielder Emily Corda after a long run.

Petaluma, after scoring two runs in the first, took the lead for good with a six-run second inning that featured key hits from O’Keefe, Joelle Krist, Baddeley and Corda.

The T-Girls then pecked away, scoring one in the fourth and three in the fifth for a nine-run (12-3) lead that was a tally short of a shortened game.

Back-top-back doubles by Alexis Silimonte and Baddeley provided a final two runs in the seventh.

For the game, Brie Gerhardt had two hits, including a game-starting triple; O’Keefe reached base three times on a hit and two walks; Krist had two hits, a walk and a sacrifice fly; Baddeley had three hits and two RBIs; and Corda had three hits. Krist’s two-run double in the second inning was smashed close to 300-feet to deep left field and would have easily cleared the portable fence on her home diamond.

In a game played at Petaluma, a trio of Petaluma pitchers - freshman Grace Ghiradelli, shortstop Gerhardt and outfielder Baddeley - threw a five-inning no-hitter at Elsie Allen’s Lady Lobos, beating them 12-0 in a Sonoma County League game on the Petaluma diamond.

Ghiradelli in two stints in the circle - the first, second and fifth innings - walked one and struck out five. Gerhardt and Baddeley each pitched a middle inning. Gerhardt didn’t walk a batter and struck out one. Baddeley walked one and struck out two.

Petaluma decided the game with 12 runs in the first inning.

Top hitters for Petaluma included Gerhardt with a double, a home run and a single, three runs scored and three RBIs; Krist with a double and a single, and three RBIs; and Emily DeCarli with a double, a single and a run scored.