Petaluma Legion team falls short in Western Regional

The Petaluma Leghorns came close to playing for a trip to the American Legion World Series on Sunday, but the local squad fell just short of that goal.

The Leghorns dropped a 6-5 thriller to the team from Albuquerque, New Mexico, eliminating the Petaluma team and sending the Albuquerque team to the regional final against Honolulu, Hawaii.

Bryce Cannon’s two-run triple in the top of the seventh had the Leghorns in position to win. But Albuquerque rallied for two runs in the bottom half the seventh to advance to the regional final, winning it over Hawaii 5-3.

The Leghorns had defeated Hawaii the day before to keep their postseason run rolling, and they had their chances to earn a rematch in the finals.

The Leghorns fell behind by two but rallied to take the lead Sunday with a three-run fourth inning.

Nichola Andrakin got things going with a leadoff single. A one-out single by Joseph Kramer and a walk by Cannon loaded the bases, and Garret Lewis brought home the Leghorns’ first run with a sacrifice fly.

After Kramer scored to tie the game on a passed ball, Elijah Waltz hit a single to give the Leghorns their first lead of the game, 3-2.

Petaluma held that lead until the sixth inning, when Albuquerque scored a pair of runs to take a 4-3 lead into the seventh.

The Leghorns battled back yet again, scoring twice to take the lead. Marcus Wolbert got the inning started with a leadoff walk, and Kramer drew a two-out walk to keep the inning going. But it was Cannon who came through in a big way with a two-run triple, giving Petaluma a 5-4 lead.

But Albuquerque loaded the bases and scored two runs to walk off with the victory.

The Leghorns are made up primarily of players from Petaluma and Casa Grande high schools, but also feature players from Maria Carrillo and Rancho Cotate.