Whitman Insurance repeats as Petaluma Valley LL champion

June 14, 2006

Whitman Insurance clin-ched back-to-back Petaluma Valley Little championships with a 3-1 victory over Century 21 last week. The Green Machine finished the regular season 12-3 and was the No. 1 seed in the rain- abbreviated season.

Arman Yektaparast started the scoring against Century 21 with a second-inning walk, moved to third on a hard hit ball by Kurt Walsh and scored on a wild pitch. Walsh then came in to score on a squeeze play executed by Weston Bryan and the Green Machine led 2-0 after two innings.

Century 21 got on the board in the third inning when Steven Bentley scored from first on a ball that Chris McDaniel hammered into center field.

Whitman wasted little time in getting the run back, as Tommy Kearney led off the bottom of the third with a double and finished the scoring on a single by Chris Hall.

The fourth and fifth innings ended without a threat from either side, leaving the drama to unfold in the top of the sixth, and final, inning.

Jason Lopez led off Century 21's sixth inning with a single, and, after one out, moved to second on a Sean Sullivan's infield hit. Nick Judd entered the batter's box as the potential go-ahead run and promptly smashed a long drive deep into left center field. Whitman's center fielder, Walsh, got a good jump on the ball and made a solid two-handed catch on the warning track to preserve the Green Machine's 3-1 lead.

The game ended on the next pitch with a pop up to Whitman's third baseman, Tyler Schalch.

Scott Mayer pitched an outstanding game, going six innings, and striking out eight, in the winning effort while Jason Lopez, Steven Bentley and Austin Eger pitched well in the loss.

Whitman Insurance's off-ense was led by Tommy Kearney and Weston Bryan with two hits apiece and Sean Torres, and Chris Hall with a hit each. Century 21 was led by Eger, who barely missed a home run, and Bentley who were both two-for-three.

The players on Whitman Insurance's championship team were Kearney, Mayer, Walsh, Torres, Schalch, Hall, Bryan, Brandon Barone, Yektaparast, Garihan, Jason Holtz and Mitchell Wilhelmsen.