Die-hard Pacifica ousted in Nor Cal finals

Pacifica manager Neils Petersen addressed the team down the right-field line for the last time this summer as, on the other side of the field, Petaluma Valley celebrated with the Nor Cal banner and the right to advance to the West Regional tournament opening this week in Bend, Oregon.

“Nothing I tell them is going to take the sting away of this right now,” Petersen said, “but as they grow, this will be a very fond memory of this time, and just winning these tournaments and just making it this far.”

Pacifica entered the championship series with the advantage of having advanced through the winners’ bracket of the seven-team tournament, which included wins of 11-7 over Los Gatos, and 9-4 over McKinleyville, followed by a 4-1 victory over Petaluma Valley in the first meeting between the two teams.

But Petaluma Valley’s pitching showed up in spades through the final two games, hanging a two-hit shutout on Pacifica in Friday’s championship-round opener, before right-hander Jayden Perry held them to one hit through the first five innings Saturday.

Perry worked into the seventh, totaling six-plus innings before maxing out his pitch count. The fireballer struck out nine while allowing two runs on three hits and five walks.

“He throws very hard and keeps the ball at the knees,” Peterson said. “He was getting a lot of low corner strikes, and that’s the secret to pitching.”

Perry also proved the hero at the plate, getting Petaluma on the board in the second with a loud two-run double up the left-center gap. Catcher Noah Holley added an RBI double to cap a two-run sixth. Petaluma totaled nine hits in the game, and chased Pacifica starting pitcher Robbie Johnson in the sixth.

Johnson worked 5 2/3 innings. The intense left-hander pitched through trouble all night to keep it close. Petaluma stranded six runners, included four in scoring position, in the contest.

“I thought he pitched great,” Pacifica’s Nate Hari said. “He was all down on himself, but I thought he pitched really well. I don’t think he has anything to hang his head about.”

Perry set down seven straight Pacifica batters at one point. But with Petaluma leading 2-0 in the fourth, Pacifica sparked a rally with a walk to No. 13 batter Sean Hagemann.

Hari followed with a line shot to center field that would have been a hit, but Petaluma center fielder Chris Kircher charged hard and cut down the lead runner at second on a bang-bang, coin-flip call. After the game, Hagemann said he was certain he beat the throw. Instead of two on with one out and the heart of their batting order coming up, Pacifica went quietly in the fourth.

It wasn’t until the sixth that Pacifica finally broke through against Perry on an RBI double off the bat of Sean Bazanez to drive home Santy Contreras to cut the deficit to 2-1.

“He was just throwing really hard,” Bazanez said, “and I just tried to time him up in my second at-bat, and I did. ... I was really excited and I thought that was how the rally would start.”

Instead, it was Petaluma that capitalized on an ensuing sixth-inning rally, answering with two runs in the bottom of the frame. Tyler Pelissetti doubled with one out and Cilia reached on an infield single to set the table. Pelissetti then scored on a wild pitch before Holley’s two-out double to the left-field wall scored Cilia, and knocked Johnson out of the game.

Hari entered in relief to end the rally with a strikeout.

Then Pacifica came roaring back in the seventh to chase Perry, and come within 90 feet of tying it.

“This team has no quit,” Peterson said. “This team won’t give up. It’s baseball. It’s not over till the last out. There’s no time, there’s no clock.”

Hagemann set the table again, this time coaching a leadoff walk on a 3-2 pitch.

“I just needed to get on base, and that’s all I was looking for,” Hagemann said, “a walk, a hit by pitch, a hit — anything. That’s all I was looking to do.”

Hari followed by flipping a single just inside the right-field line, and Johnson singled to right to load the bases with no outs.

Hari said dying hard in the final inning is in Pacifica’s DNA.

“I feel like we do that a lot sometimes,” Hari said, “and it’s just because we don’t hang our heads in the seventh, and we keep playing and don’t worry about the outcome of the game.”

Dom Paulsen, Pacifica’s top hitter through the summer, stepped to the plate and worked the count from 0-2 to 3-2. With the anticipation mounting, Paulsen connected for a drive to left field, but just got under it to settle for a sacrifice fly to drive home Hagemann. After a wild pitch advanced both runners, Riall Moore grounded out to shortstop to drive home Hari and move Johnson to third.

Elijah Mora Feldman stepped to the plate and took a mighty rip at the first offering, fouling it straight back. Two pitches later, Mora Feldman contacted a loud fly to right that sounded promising off the bat, but was hit directly at the right fielder to end it.

Peterson said he told the team after the game: “Just how proud I am of them to make it all this way and to come together so quickly as a team. All these kids were on separate teams this year, and they just became a great baseball team in a couple weeks practice, and just really played incredible. I don’t think anybody pegged us to be here. I just told them I’m really proud of them.”

Pacifica posted a 4-2 record in the tournament. Their roster includes: Hari, Johnson, Paulsen, Moore, Mora Feldman, Contreras, Bazanez, Hagemann, Luke Petersen, Elijah Hermosillo, Will Hansen, Brady Fitzpatrick and William Gatley.