The bats were rocking in ’s 15-4 victory over Concord's Carondelet in the North Coast Section Division II Championship game Friday night in Novato. Shortstop Chelsea Martin led the way for the Trojans with a grand slam, and a triple, driving in half of the team’s runs on the evening.
“Chelsea was unbelievable, those balls she hit today,” said Petaluma coach Kurt Jastrow. “This team has hit all year long, this is a great win.”
Martin’s first big hit came in the third inning of a 1-1 ball game as she ripped a triple to the left-center field gap. A pair of errors and a base hit loaded the bases and all those runs came in to score to give the Trojans a 4-1 lead.
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“There’s a reason why they’re number two, they’re a very good team,” said Carondelet coach Martin Soares. “They made us pay for every mistake we made.”
Then in the fourth, the Petaluma offense displayed their unmatched prowess, scoring six more runs against Carondelet’s starter, Danielle Ouimet. After back-to-back run scoring singles by Nicole Wiecks and Allie Corids, Martin came up again with the bases chucked. She took a middle-in fastball deep to left-center for a grand slam, her seventh RBI on the day putting Petaluma up 10-1.
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“I can’t even put into words how happy I am right now,” Martin said. “This team, we’re so tight, it’s just an awesome moment to have with them.”
Meanwhile, the T-Girls got a pretty good effort out of pitcher Dana Thomson. Thomson, known for the face mask she wears, pitched six innings, giving up four runs (two earned), striking out six.
“I was nervous and shaking out of my mind,” the sophomore said about starting the game. “I didn’t want to let my team down because this is what we worked for.”
The only real threat Carondelet put together was in the fifth inning trailing by nine runs. The Cougars got three runs on just one hit and two Petaluma errors. Even then, the Trojans still led 10-4 and their lumber was still was not done.
Petaluma got a run in the fifth and three runs in the sixth to invoke the 10-run mercy rule. Abby Balf’s single to right field brought in the 15th run to close out the game. Besides Martin, Petaluma also got a lot of help from lead-off hitter, T.J. Watts, who had two doubles, an RBI, and three runs scored.
“It feels amazing, I’m so stoked we reached our goal,” Thomson said.
The Petaluma season wraps up with a 21-4 record, with a Sonoma County League title, and the NCS championship for the first time since 2007. The Trojans only graduate three seniors this year and have nine players returning, including both starting pitchers.
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