Petaluma softball teams stopped by Alhambra in coach’s last game

It wasn’t the end Kurt Jastrow would have liked, but Petaluma High softball coach Kurt Jastrow wouldn’t have liked any end to his 26-year softball coaching career.

Jastrow officially announced his retirement two weeks ago. His final game, played on the memory-littered Trojan diamond was an 8-2 loss to Martinez-based Alhambra High School in the first round of the North Coast Section Division 2 playoffs.

“It’s over,” Jastrow said simply after the last out. “I’m really going to miss it. I really would like to coach one more game.” He probably would have said the same thing at the end of any last game.

Alhambra ended Petaluma’s season with a four-run rally in the third inning and an outstanding defensive effort.

Unlike many of the fire throwers Petaluma has faced this season, Bulldog pitcher Willa Adler kept anxious Trojan batters out in front of most of her deliveries, inducing them to bounce to the infield or pop harmlessly to the outfield.

“We were hitting off our front foot the entire game,” Jastrow observed.

The Bulldog defense, especially on the left side of the infield, was stellar with shortstop Kennedy Gustin and third baseman Kyomi Apalit turning several hard-hit Petaluma shots into outs with diving stops and accurate throws.

Relying on her defense, Adler allowed Petaluma seven hits with only three strikeouts, but walked only one.

One Petaluma batter who did time an Adler pitch correctly was pitcher Katrina Johnson who lifted a shot over the center field fence for a home run to give her side a 1-0 lead in the first inning. It was one of her two hits in the game.

The advantage disappeared in the third inning when Alhambra managed to manufacture four runs on just two hits by taking advantage of three walks. Key blow in the rally was a two-run double to the opposite field by Samantha Schuler.

Petaluma made an effort to get back in the game in the sixth inning, fashioning a two-out rally on consecutive hits by Myra Gonzalez and Karlie Bernich and a rare Alhambra infield error. A sizzling line drive by Casey Sullivan went right to Gustin to ended the inning.

Petaluma’ dreams of a comeback were shattered by three more Alhambra runs in the seventh with four walks aiding the rally.

Petaluma made several outstanding defensive plays of its own, including a neat short to first double play turned by shortstop Ellie Oatman.

The Trojans also pulled off a spectacular double dip when they cut down an overly adventurous Bulldog base running trying to go from first to third base on an infield hit, and then shot the batter down at second base.

Jastrow’s final team ends its season with a 12-10 record, a third-place finish in the Vine Valley Athletic League (7-5) and, like so many before them, the memories of playing for a special coach.