High school baseball roundup: Petaluma bests Piner for 1st in SCL

With first place at stake in a crucial Sonoma County League baseball matchup on Friday, the game was no contest as host Petaluma demolished Piner 10-1.

The Trojans' victory puts them in sole possession of first place and Piner drops to second place.

Petaluma (5-1, 10-4-1) took a 5-1 lead after the third inning and never looked back. The Trojans finished with 12 hits to Piner's (5-2, 8-9-1) three.

“Piner is a well coached team, but this year we have the horses,” Petaluma coach Jim Selvitella said. “Our hitting philosophy is there is no reason to wait around. I tell the kids, if you see a fastball early in the count, jump on it.”

The big early lead was more than enough for Petaluma starter Nick Andrakin, who went five innings and gave up one run and three hits.

“Nick was solid,” Selvitella said. “He was overpowering with his fastball.”

Piner starter Brennan Carpenter labored for 2? innings, giving up five runs (three earned) and seven hits in his short stint.

“Petaluma hit well,” Piner coach Nick Green said. “Carpenter struggled to throw strikes and our defense struggled.”

Piner won the first meeting 12-4 and Green said his team came out flat in the rematch.

“We just weren't ready today and Petaluma came out for revenge,” Green said. “Petaluma's pitcher was working ahead in the count all day.”

The Trojans' Bradley Smith smashed a 2-run homer and teammates Andrakin and Devon Gottschall both went 2-for-3.

Maria Carrillo 6, Cardinal Newman 5

In a North Bay League matchup, the host fourth-place Pumas (5-2, 11-5) upset the second-place Cardinals (4-2, 6-8). With the game tied 5-5, Maria Carrillo pushed across the winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning when Connor Charpiot hit a sacrifice fly to score Chris Latorre from third base.

“It was definitely a tough loss,” Cardinal Newman coach Derek DeBenedetti said. “We win today and we stay within one game of Casa Grande. It makes every game after this a little more meaningful.”

The Cardinals have eight NBL games remaining, including two with the first-place Gauchos.

Cardinal Newman starter Sean Flowers had not surrendered an earned run in his previous 13 innings but he had an off game, giving up five runs (two earned) and four hits in four innings.

“It wasn't one of Sean's sharpest outings,” DeBenedetti said. “He uncharacteristically had four walks and hit a batter.”

Maria Carrillo starter Cade Sheets (four innings, five runs - three earned, six hits) also wasn't sharp.

“We got to Sheets a little bit,” DeBenedetti said.

Offensively, the Pumas were led by Charpiot (1-2, 2 RBIs, run), Latorre (1-3, 2 runs), and Cody Kent (1-1, 2 walks, RBI, run).

Cardinal Newman was paced by Jordan Herrfeldt (3-3, 2 RBIs, run), Connor Pedersen (1-3, RBI),and Ryan Miller (1-2, run).

Casa Grande 14, Montgomery 1

The host Gauchos (6-0, 10-4) remain undefeated and atop the NBL after disposing of the fifth-place Vikings (2-5, 5-12) with a barrage of runs.

Casa Grande's first six batters all reached base in a six-run first inning. A.J. Miller administered the heavy damage in the inning with a three-run homer.

Montgomery starter Wyatt Randall did not record an out and didn't make it out of the first.

“It was a tough way to start the game. We couldn't get Casa hitters off balance. They hit the ball well,” Montgomery coach Zac Ward said. “Casa has been the standard-bearer of our league for quite a while and they still are.”

Gauchos starter Travis Morgan limited the Vikings to three hits and one run in three innings.

“It was a huge outing for Travis,” Casa Grande coach Chad Fillinger said. “He's been up and down, but he really gave us a big outing today.”

“Morgan threw a lot of strikes,” Ward said. He was challenging our hitters early in the count.”

Miller (3-4, homer, triple, double, walk, 6 RBIs, 2 runs) had a chance for the cycle when he came up in the sixth inning, but drew a walk as the Vikings pitched around him.

“Miller is a big guy with big pop,” Fillinger said. “Six runs in the first inning was a great way to start. We continue to put pressure on teams.”

Casa Grande hitters Aaron Van Tighem (2-4, 2 RBIs, 2 runs) and Joe Lampee (3-5, 2 RBIs, 2 runs) also had stellar days at the plate.

Rancho Cotate 5, Windsor 1

The Cougars (5-2, 10-7) remain in third place in the NBL after defeating the visiting Jaguars (2-5, 6-8), who remain in seventh place.

Rancho Cotate relied on a four-run fifth inning to carry the day. In the inning, the Cougars scored two runs on suicide-squeeze bunts and were thrown out on a third attempt.

“Rancho played small-ball on us. They are very good at that,” Windsor coach Dave Avila said. “They executed their game plan very well.”

Cougars starting pitcher Joey Kramer went the distance to earn the victory and gave up only one run and two hits.

“Kramer was throwing his off-speed pitch for strikes and he kept us off balance,” Avila said. Our starter (Tyler Hellums) was dominant for five innings. It was a great pitcher's game.”

Analy 19, Elsie Allen 0

The visiting Tigers (3-3, 10-6) remain in fourth place in the SCL while the Lobos (0-5, 0-11) are still searching for their first win of the season.

In a shortened five-inning game, Analy scored four runs in the first inning, 12 runs in the second and three runs in the third.

The Tigers had 18 hits and took advantage of eight Elsie Allen field errors. The Lobos were held without a hit.