On the verge of victory, Nationals lose twice

Petaluma National was eliminated by Tiburon from the Section 1 Majors Little League Tournament with a wrenching 9-7 defeat in a seven-inning contest that finished in the twilight last week in ?Fairfield.

The two teams batted on even terms for six innings after the Nationals battled back to knot the game at 7-7 on a clutch ground-ball single by David Wood that chased two runs across the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning.

With the possible winning run at third base Tiburon chose to walk the bases loaded in the same frame, but the Nationals could not put the ball in play, and the game moved to extra innings.

In the top of the seventh inning, JP Halpin squared up a pitch by National reliever Jacob Haugen and sent it over the center field fence for a two-run homer and a lead that Tiburon never would relinquish.

Petaluma National again battled back with the tying runs aboard and hot-hitting Ben Diaz at the plate. Diaz, who had three solid hits in the game, chopped one past the pitcher, but he was thrown out on a close play at first base and the celebration began for the team from the peninsula.

Petaluma out-hit Tiburon 14-9, but in several instances the Nationals did not make their opponents field the ball with runners aboard. Nine strikeouts by the free swinging Nationals cut their rallies short.

Colin Landry continued to hit very well in post-season play with three hits including a three-run homer in the bottom of the fourth inning that brought Petaluma back into the game by chopping the Tiburon lead to 6-5.

Catcher Raime Dayton scored three runs for the Nationals to give him a total of eight in the lead-off slot in four games at the Fairfield tourney.

Four errors and a couple of balls lost in the late afternoon sun kept the Tiburon lines moving.

Landry took over from starter Diaz, and threw three solid innings before giving way to Haugen in the late going.

Tiburon, with three consecutive wins in the tournament after dropping a 4-3 decision to Petaluma in the second round, advances to the Nor Cal finals at Alameda.

Tiburon 7, Petaluma 6

Tiburon grimly led off a late charge by the Petaluma Nationals to force the final championship game with an exciting 7-6 win in the first match between the title participants with Petaluma needing just one win for advancement.

The Nationals trailed 7-2 mid way through the game, but chipped away at the deficit, including getting two runs in the bottom of the sixth.

Power-hitting infielder Diaz was called out on a checked swing with the potential tying run at first base, and the two evenly matched squads headed to the winner-take-all game.

Tiburon masterfully managed its pitching staff by using four hurlers to earn the victory. With innings at a premium, right hander Kent Goodman got his club to the verge of victory with four tidy innings of work.

The Tiburon pitcher had thrown an extra game because of an earlier loss to the Nationals on he second day of the tournament.

Petaluma jumped on Goodman for a 2-0 advantage on a Landry home run in the first inning, but Tiburon battled back to take control of the game until the final hectic innings.

Consecutive hits off starter Carl Schmidt and a costly infield error by Petaluma helped Tiburon post back-to-back three-run frames in the third and fourth innings. It was uphill the rest of the way for the Nationals.

The disciplined Tiburon team kept putting the ball in play against Schmidt with the aid of three singles that dropped in front of charging outfielders. Goodman helped his own cause with a two-run homer in the fourth inning.

There was very little quit in the Petaluma club as the Nationals got a solo blast by Diaz and three more runs in the final two innings, but came up a tally short as the fans from both teams grimaced with each pitch. Solid hits by Dayton and Schmidt got the Nationals close.

Seven strikeouts by Goodman kept Petaluma from moving the line. Overall, the Nationals were sent away with 12 punch-outs.

Most of the Petaluma offense came from the top of the lineup with four of the five total base hits coming there, including homers by Landry and Diaz.

Schmidt was pinned with the loss. He was followed to the bump by Ben Haugen and Carter Payte who kept things close.

Petaluma executed a fine relay play on a single fielded by center fielder George Marzo who threw to the plate where Dayton gunned down a Tiburon runner who over run third base.