MAJOR LEAGUE ALL STARS: Nationals add glove work to district championship effort

The slugging Petaluma National Major Little League All-Stars showed gold-glove skills in the District 35 championship game Sunday morning at Carter Field, thwarting Petaluma Valley’s best, 6-1.

The Nationals hit their seemingly mandatory home runs, with Mark Wolbert, Wyatt Davis and Liam Gottschall all going deep. Wolbert opened the game with a solo shot in the first inning and Davis and Gottschall went back-to-back in the second inning.

But, with the championship on the line, it was the National defense that shined.

In the fourth inning, with Valley runners at second and third and two outs, Ben Wilson bounced what looked like a sure two-run hit toward right field, but National second baseman Enzo Scaccaiosi somehow managed to snare the hopper and fire to first in time to get the runner and keep the Valley from getting back into what, at the time, was a 5-1 game.

Third baseman Luke Reavis made a multitude of outstanding plays, including snaring two sizzling line drives, shortstop Nate Zimmerman ended the game with a sure-handed play and the outfield, with one error exception, was solid with both gloves and arms.

Backed by the glove work, Davis pitched five strong innings after taking over for starter David Cook in the second inning. He gave up just three hits, walked two and struck out three.

The game’s first batter, Wolbert, walloped a home run and the Nationals never trailed, although the Valley temporarily tied things in the bottom of the first when Jaden Julian hit a monster drive that damaged a tree in ultra-deep center field.

There were two out in the second inning when Davis smashed his own moon shot for three runs and Gottschall followed with another fence-clearing blow.

After that, it was pitching and defense as Aiden Lombardi kept the bomb-blasting Nationals in check with eight strikeouts for the game, this despite a line drive that knocked his legs from under him in the fourth inning. He gamely continued.

Both teams had scoring chances, but neither could dent home plate until the Nationals added an insurance tally in the sixth on Spencer Norman’s blistering triple down the right-field line and Wolbert’s single, his third hit of the game.

Davis had a big bat game, screaming a pair of doubles off the fence in addition to his homer.

Seven bombs

The homer-happy Nationals bashed seven over the fence to power past the Valley, 13-6, in the winners’ bracket semifinals Friday evening.

The Valley came right back Saturday morning to eliminate Rincon Valley, 11-1, and earn another shot at the Nationals.

The Nationals went deep literally from top to bottom of their batting order. Leadoff hitter Wolbert hit one way out as the first batter of the game, and later, No. 9 hitter Norman cleared the fence twice.

In between, Davis also bombed twice and Zimmerman and Dev Sagaral also cleared the fence.

Not only did National hits leave the Carter Field ballpark, they bounced all around inside the fences. Unofficially, the Nationals had 15 hits in the game.

In addition to the hitting, the Nationals received strong pitching from Davis and some sound defense.

Davis took the mound in the third inning and shut the comeback-hoping Valley down until a pitch count limitation forced him off the bump one out into the sixth inning. Four National pitchers were backed by solid defense, that included a double play and a Valley runner cut down at home to thwart a final-frame comeback try.

Valley batters showed they, too, could whack the baseball, collecting eight hits, and putting runners on in every inning. However, they were just no match for the National power, although Jake Lannert smashed a two-run shot in the first inning when the Valley scored three runs to temporarily make a contest of the game.

Valley was thwarted in two big, but unproductive scoring opportunities.

In the third inning, a wild pitch on a strikeout, a walk and Wilson’s single loaded the bases with one out, but Zimmerman struck out one batter before being pitch-counted off the mound and giving way to Davis, who recorded a whiff for the third out, leaving the bags jammed.

In the fourth, the Valley scored an error-based run and had two men on when now-shortstop Zimmerman initiated a double play to end the threat.

Norman, not one of the bigger National sluggers, stood giant-sized at the pate, belting, in order, a double, a three-run homer, a solo homer and a single to go 4-for-4 with four RBIs and four runs scored.

Wolbert had a double to go with his homer and Davis had the two dingers, Everybody else helped.

Julian had three hits for Petaluma Valley, although National pitchers managed to keep the regular-season homer machine in the ballpark. Lannert had a single to go with his homer.