The Petaluma High baseball team finally beat the rain to get in a pair of games, but the results were not what the Trojans would have liked.
Petaluma managed to sneak in its first game in mid-week, but were blanked by Sir Francis Drake from Terra Linda, 3-0. It was a disappointing opening game for the young, but highly regarded, Trojans who were out-played in every aspect.
Most hurting for Petaluma was lack of offense. Drake pitchers Colin Brown and Sterling Perry had the Trojan hitters off balance the entire game, limiting them to four hits.
The Pirate pitchers didn’t overpower the Trojans, striking out six, but they did take advantage of the Petalumans’ over eagerness, inducing them to swing at deliveries that seemed to be several inches off the strike zone.
Petaluma pitcher Gavin Ochoa, who figures to be one of the Trojans’ best, didn’t hurl poorly, but he will have better games. The sophomore was touched for nine hits in 4? innings, striking out four and walking two.
Petaluma’s defense was good, if not crisp. Although they were charged with only one error, it was huge. That miscue came in a game-changing fourth inning.
After working efficiently through the first three innings, although Drake had base runners in each frame, Ochoa handed the Pirates a run in the fourth. One out into the inning, Drake threatened with back-to-back singles from Jonas Salk and Dan Forrest. Conner George hit what looked like a made-to-order double play comebacker that Ochoa lobbed into center field allowing the game’s first run to score.
The inning could have gotten really ugly as Ochoa walked the next two batters, but in between the free passes, the Pirates messed up a squeeze play and Trojan catcher Jack Gallagher ran down Forrest before lobbing to third baseman Mario Zarco for the out that ultimately prevented anymore run damage.
Drake did successfully execute a squeeze bunt in the fifth frame and Isaac Friedenberg delivered an insurance tally in the sixth off Petaluma reliever Mark Wolbert.
The run was the only one allowed by the sophomore reliever in 2? innings of strong pitching. He gave up two hits, walking one and striking out four.
Garrett Lewis led off the Trojans’ batting order with a first-inning single and slapped another hit in the seventh. Gallagher singled in the second and slammed a double in the sixth, but they were the only two Petaluma hitters. Only twice did Petaluma get runners as far as third base.
In the second, Gallagher’s single, a walk to Ochoa and a force out at second base put the catcher on third with one out, but a short fly to center and a whiff left him stranded at that spot.
In the seventh, Sam Brown walked and moved up on a wild pitch. Gallagher slammed his double down the left-field line, but Brown could get no farther than third and both expired in scoring position on a whiff and a ground out.
Extra-inning hurt
The Trojans managed to get in some extra work during a Saturday weather break, but again the result was not what they wanted as they lost to Marin Catholic, 3-2, in eight innings.
Petaluma, behind the pitching of sophomore Julian Garahan took a 2-0 lead into the seventh inning before Marin Catholic’s visiting Wildcats rallied to tie the game.
Sam Brown came in to get out of the inning with the game still tied, but gave up a run in the top of the eighth, and the Wildcats held on for the win.
Arguing well for the Petaluma pitching future, Garrahn give up just four hits and two walks in six innings.
Petaluma continued to have trouble getting its offense untracked.
The highlight was a home run by Sam Brown. The other hits were all singles by Nico Bertolucci, Jack Gallagher, Garrett Lewis, Sam Jacobs and Mario Zarco.
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