Petaluma American 10s hanging tough in Nor-Cal Tournament

A well-struck line drive to right field for an out left the possible tying run at third base as Petaluma American fell to Tri-City, 6-5, in an exciting third-round game at the 10-year-old Nor Cal Little League Tournament at Larkspur on Tuesday.

The sharp blow by Kalen Clemmens looked good when it left the bat, but it found the glove of the Tri-City right fielder, and a late Petaluma rally in the top of the sixth inning fell short in the tournament held at the confines of well-manicured Joe Wagner Field. Only four teams remain, and the Americans will play a win-or-go home contest on Thursday in an effort to survive.

Tri-City, representing the talent rich area in the Rocklin area near Sacramento, took command of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning when eight consecutive batters paraded to the plate against two American relievers. A 3-3 tie going into the frame suddenly became a 6-3 deficit.

With only one turn at bat remaining, Petaluma suddenly found some offensive shoes of its own when third-slot hitter Jordan Giacomini pulled a dramatic two-run bomb over the center field fence to make it 6-5

Petaluma fans got further encouragement when Wyatt Abramson rapped a ball over the third base bag and hustled into second base carrying the potential tying run. Abramson moved to third on a wild pitch, but that is where he stayed.

“We could not stop the bleeding in the bottom of the fifth inning,” said a disappointed Petaluma manager Blaine Clemmens. “They have a good team over there and their hitters found some holes.”

Petaluma lost an opportunity to score another run when an American runner was thrown out at the plate on an attempted double steal. The run down was handled by at least five Rocklin players before Giacomini was tagged out at the plate.

“There was no mistake there,” noted Clemmens. “The kids are encouraged to be aggressive at times, and Jordan almost scored.”

Petaluma starting pitcher Ethan Arellano kept the Americans close, but he fell short of four full innings because of the pitch count. He was the author of the best defensive play of the afternoon, converting a hard-hit ball into a double play at first. The toss to the bag at first was made from his knees.

Catcher Jack Larson also turned in an outstanding effort behind the plate, blocking dangerous pitches in the dirt to help deny rallies by Tri-Cities.

The Americans managed to tie the game with three walks and a fielder’s choice in the top of the fifth. With the bases still loaded, two Petaluma batters were retired on strikes to end the threat. The game was halted for more than 15 minutes while the grounds crew attended to the mound because of the complaints of the Tri-Cities coaching staff. Despite the work, Rocklin pitchers continued to struggle with control for the rest the frame.

Win over Lemoore

Tri-City came into the game with wins over Northgate and Pacifica American while Petaluma got by Lemoore on Sunday morning.

Pitcher Jack Hu completely took the power out of the bats of Lemoore hitters in that game, pacing the Petaluma Americans to a well-played 3-1 win.

The diminutive Hu had everything working around the strike zone as Lemoore hitters struggled with their timing from the opening inning. He struck out seven of the first 12 batters he faced by alternating a fast ball with an effective change-up pitch with a bit of a twist.

Lemoore, the Section 7 champion from the Central Valley, could not piece together a rally until a single run crossed the plate as a result of a ground out with one out in the top of the fifth inning. The run was unearned.

By that time, the Americans had mustered up enough offense to take a solid 3-0 lead in back of Hu who kept on dealing until he had to be removed because of the Little League pitch count in the top of the final inning.

“We thought about removing Jack earlier, but he was pitching so well that we let him go as far as he could,” said American Manager Blaine Clemmens. “My thinking is that we have to win the game in front of us to move ahead in the tournament. We haven’t played very good defense recently, but today we were much better.”

Some effective and very aggressive base running gave Petaluma a pair of runs in the bottom of the second inning. A double into right field by third baseman Clemmens set the table.

A ground ball to short by Arellano was not converted, and runners were set up at first and third base. They didn’t remain there very long.

The opportunistic Arellano broke for second base quickly into the count, and he forced a double steal situation as Clemmens keyed on the throw to second to race home with the first run of the game. Credit Lemoore with making a good baseball play, but the throw home was too late.

Arellano was not through, as he pilfered third base in front of a tardy throw. Later, on an infield ground ball, Arellano came home with what proved to be the winning run.

Petaluma American scored an insurance run after a double by Jack Larson and a clutch RBI single off the bat of Giacomini.

Hu was replaced by Clemmens in the top of the sixth inning with one out, and the Americans continued to close out the game by retiring the Lemoore batters in order. A strikeout and a soft bouncer to Clemmens ended the contest.

Lemoore, the Kings County entry, featuring players from the community and the near by air base, accounted for only two hits in six full innings, one on a bunt.

Hu got credit for the much-deserved victory while Clemmens picked up the save for the Americans. Aurillo Murillo absorbed the loss for Lemoore.

The Section 1 champs were paced by Clemmens who was credited with three hits in the early morning game, while teammate Giacomini had two hits.