American Elevens pitch past Lafayette in first section game

Petaluma American Little League’s 9-11-year-old All-Star team made an impressive start in the Section 1 Tournament Sunday afternoon, downing Lafayette, 6-2.

The win pairs the Petalumans against Sonoma this evening at 5:30 p.m. back on the American Canyon Little League diamond. A win tonight and the Americans will play for the section championship Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. A loss and they will play for survival Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.

While Petaluma broke open its first section game against Lafayette Sunday with some heavy hitting in the fifth inning, it was strong pitching and steady defense that was really the difference.

Brady Laubscher worked three innings and a strikeout. Although he gave up the Lafayette runs in the third inning, one scored on the only Petaluma error and the other on an opposite field double that was barely fair. He whiffed seven, including the side in the second inning.

When Laubscher was removed with one out in the fourth to preserve him for later tournament work, Ryan Rice came on to shut Lafayette down the rest of the way, although he, too, had some anxious moments. Rice finished with five strikeouts, including three straight in the fifth frame.

The first four innings of the contest, played in a near-coat cool breeze, were tense and swiftly moving.

Lafayette blinked the socreboard first, getting the game’s first run on a walk, a single and an overthrow at third base. Wyatt Cooper, a left swinger, dropped a double down the left-field line to drive home a second run.

Petaluma tied the game in the fourth on a single by Luke Bell, Danny Mercado’s hard belted double and a sacrifice fly by Rice.

A third run was nullified when a runner was ruled to have left third base before a would-be sacrifice fly by Drew Bugbee was caught.

Aggressive base running and hits by Jasper Farrar, Max Drumm, Bell, Mercardo and Rice sparked the Americans’ decisive fifth-inning rally.

Most impressive belt in the assualt was Mercado’s second double in as many innings. He finished with three hits and two runs in addition to playing a superb all-around game behind the plate.

Bell had two hits in the contest.

Rice struck out the side in the fifth before getting into a little trouble i the sixth with a walk and a single. He solved that little problem with a pair of strikeouts to move the Americans one step closer to a section title.