SCL SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT: T-Girls slam Piner for first-round win

Petaluma rolled to a convincing 17-1 win over visiting Piner on Tuesday to open play in the Sonoma County League post-season softball tournament. The T-Girls will host the winner of the Analy-Sonoma Valley contest on Thursday afternoon to determine the tournament title.

Following the tourney title game, the SCL regular season champs will await the announcement of the North Coast Section Division II playoffs on Sunday afternoon. The T-Girls, averaging nine runs per game, have captured the league title for five consecutive seasons.

Petaluma scored in every frame in the lopsided opening-round victory. Shortstop Brie Gerhardt punctuated a 10-run rally in the bottom of the fourth inning by blasting a grand slam home run over the left-field fence. Gerhardt scored five runs and finished with three hits. Her home run was a no-doubt line drive that left the yard in a hurry.

Hard-hitting Joelle Krist added three hits and knocked in a pair of runs to raise her team-leading RBI total to 42 for the season.

Catcher Miranda Swanson had a most impressive outing for the T-Girls with four hits while driving in a couple of runs. Swanson was hitting .379 going into the contest. All of her hits were well struck.

Missing from the starting lineup for the T-Girls was regular third baseman Meghan DeCoite. The senior captain, who plays only defense because of an injury to her knee, was held out of the contest by coach Kurt Jastrow.

“We had an opportunity to use some more players in a game like this one, and Meghan sat this one out today,” noted Jastrow. “She will be back in there against either Sonoma or Analy.”

The T-Girls banged out 15 hits in only four innings to claim their 22nd win of the season.

Petaluma pitcher Emily O’Keefe worked only the first four frames in the game that was ended by the mercy-run rule. O’Keefe struck out six and only allowed three Prospector hits to pick up her 15th win of the season. She did not have the regular rhythm of her change-up, but kept a good fastball low in the strike zone.

Freshman Grace Ghiradelli finished up the game for the T-Girls, setting down Piner in order.

Despite the lopsided outcome, the Lady Prospectors finished league play with their best record (6-6) since 2004, when they posted five wins in the North Bay League. Piner also pinned a 1-0 loss on San Rafael of the Marin County League earlier in the season.

Sophomore Sienna Carretero banged out a couple of hits for the Lady Prospectors and knocked in the only run of the game for the visitors.

After the game Jastrow discussed the league tournament format, and said Petaluma would have to now prepare the diamond for the Analy-Sonoma Valley game the next day.

“We can close up this diamond area and charge for the games. The Sonoma County League gets all the proceeds. Analy is the only other school that could host with no trouble because they are also fenced in,” he explained.

Last week, Petaluma had little trouble disposing of its closest competition in the Sonoma County League, clinching the league championship with a 15-2 win over Sonoma Valley.

The game was tied at 1-1 for four innings before Petaluma scored six runs in the fifth inning and put the game way out of the Lady Dragons’ reach with a seven-run explosion in the seventh.

Gerhardt and Swanson led a 16-hit Petaluma assault with three hits each, with Gerhardt doubling and driving in three runs, while Swanson also counted a two-bagger among her hits. Krist doubled and slammed her seventh home run of the season.