Cats drop opener in Area 1 tournament

The Colusa Channel Cats baseball club trekked to Arcata on Wednesday for the Area 1 Junior American Legion Tournament, opening with a 3-2 loss to Petaluma at Arcata Ball Park's Humboldt Crab Field.

Colusa tied the game, 2-2, in the top of the fourth after the Petaluma Leghorns plated two runs in the third inning.

The Leghorns scored the game-winner in the bottom of the seventh, as Cameron Olson issued a leadoff walk, then gave up an RBI double to deep left.

The double was Petaluma's only hit against Olson, who relieved starter Nolan West in the sixth inning.

West pitched five innings and allowed two runs, one earned, on six hits, and struck out four.

Colusa managed just four hits, all of which came during the fourth-inning rally.

Blake Freechtle and West singled back-to-back and Steven Perry's sacrifice attempt turned into a base hit that loaded the bases with no outs.

Olson hit a grounder to the right side, scoring Freechtle, but forcing Perry out at second. With runners at first and third, Derrick Brown singled to plate West for the Channel Cats' second run.

Baserunners were few and far between thereafter for Colusa, as Petaluma played error-free defense and the Channel Cats failed to record another hit.

"Their pitcher (R.J. Bosse) was nothing amazing or overpowering, but located his pitches and spotted the ball well," Channel Cats coach Sonny Badaluco said. "Our guys seemed ready to play, but tried to pull everything. We didn't make any adjustments at the plate."

Colusa defeated the Oroville Thundercats last Saturday, 9-1, to earn the District 4 championship in Chico.

In other first-round Area 1 games, which were played at Crab Field in Arcata or McKinleyville High School, the Davis Blue Devils beat the North Humboldt Knights, 11-3; the Redding Diamondbacks prevailed against Napa, 6-1; and the Eureka Dukes fell to the Grass Valley Miners, 9-1.

The Channel Cats (31-9) played the Dukes in the loser's bracket hoping to advance in the double-elimination tourney.

Final results of the tourney will be reported next week.