Little League: Petaluma National 10U captures Section 1 title, advances to state tournament

Petaluma National Little League’s 10-and-under All-Star team brought home the Section 1 title Wednesday night, beating Twin Cities 7-3 to cap another thrilling tournament and continue its postseason run into the state tournament in Larkspur this weekend.

PNLL has faced elimination games since Sunday, when the team fell to Twin Cities 6-0 in the semifinals. They then defeated Napa American 13-4 to advance out of the loser’s bracket and set up a rematch with Twin Cities for the championship.

PNLL won Tuesday’s game 15-14, scoring four runs in the bottom of the sixth to claim the walk-off victory and force Wednesday’s winner-take-all game.

This time, PNLL led for most of the contest and broke the game open with three runs in the bottom of the fourth to push their advantage to 7-2.

“It’s the same story as the last tournament,” PNLL 10U manager Nick Neve said. “We got ourselves into the loser’s bracket and then we got to play five days in a row. It’s tough on your pitching, but it keeps everybody sharp, and we got better as the tournament went on.”

In Wednesday’s game, Mathew Mason drove in three runs on a hit, Aras Powell doubled with two RBIs, Jasper German and Brendan Albright each drove in a run and Dominic Neve and Lucas Porter had two hits apiece.

On the mound, Ben Reidy allowed just three runs (two earned) with three strikeouts in a near-complete game, firing 5⅔ innings.

PNLL is now 11-2 this postseason and has won four of its last six games via walk-off.

“We stepped up to the challenge, and the boys deserve all the credit,” Nick Neve said about the run in the section tournament. “They figured out how to not give up and play hard for every out of every inning, and that’s really how you win these things. There are going to be ups and downs, but if you stay in it and keep your head up, you will always be in the game.”

PNLL will begin the state tournament Saturday at Twin Cities Little League in Larkspur. They’ll open against the Section 6 champion at 11 a.m.

Y ou can reach Staff Writer Gus Morris at 707-304-9372 or gus.morris@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @JustGusPD.