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Sports

Petaluma Moves on to Play for NCS Championship

Trojans defeat Rancho Cotate in semis

The softball team scored four runs in the fourth inning to take the lead and get past Rancho Cotate 6-2 in Rohnert Park on Wednesday. The win punches Petaluma's ticket to the North Coast Section title game against Carondelet of Concord on Friday at San Marin High School in Novato.

The T-Girls had an inspired game against Rancho, despite the absence of head coach Kurt Jastrow. "I think they put in a little extra today, knowing that he wasn't there," said assistant coach Jim Marino.

Despite playing on their home field, Rancho was the visiting team and struck first in the top of the first. Kaykay Fronda tripled off of Petaluma starter Gina Barnacle and scored on a sacrifice fly by Shonna Christianson. The Trojans came right back in the bottom of the first with a pair of runs to take a 2-1 lead. An error by the Rancho shortstop prolonged the inning, and Tamara Link took advantage by doubling to knock in the two runs.

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The Trojans caught a break in the fourth after Christianson and Rancho pitcher Katy Kibbe doubled. The relay throw on the double squirted away in the infield, but Christianson had already held up at third.

Kibbe on second, saw the ball get away and took off for third, forcing Christianson off the bag, where she was subsequently tagged out. Courtnie Morton follwed with a single to score Kibbe and knot the game at two, but that was all the Ranch would get.

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The offense came up huge in the Trojan half of the fourth off of Kibbe. A couple hits and another error loaded the bases, and with two away Nicole Wiecks singled in a run to re-take the lead. The big blow came off the bat of Allie Corids, who laced a line-drive to left that cleared the bases and gave Petaluma a 6-2 favor which it would not relinguish.

"I knew she was throwing me inside all game," Corids said. "Right when I hit it, I knew it was going to be good, got it on the fat part of the bat."

Dana Thomson came on in relief of Barnacle in the fifth and mowed through the Rancho order. "We knew it was a tough part of their lineup and we decided to make a change," Marino said. "We gave them a different look, different speed, different movement, and she really shut the door."

Through three innings out of the bullpen, Thomson struck out six batters and did not allow a hit. "I started nailing the outside pitches and the girls weren't hitting them," Thomson said. "I kept throwing it there and the change-up helped, they just popped it up."

Corids led the Petaluma offense, going 3-for-3 with three RBI and a run scored. Barnacle got the win, improving her record to 8-1 on the season, lasting four innings, giving up two runs on six hits.

"Petaluma's really good, they hit the ball hard," said Rancho coach Dave Johnson. "Hats off to 'em, they got a shot win it all."

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