In the NCS Division 2 Championship game, No. 9 Ukiah throttled host No. 3 Petaluma, 13-1 Saturday afternoon.
With the game tied at one heading into the second inning, Ukiah scored 12 unanswered runs, cruising to victory to pull off the upset.
“You can never expect too much in this game,” Ukiah head coach Aaron Ford said postgame. “I’m just really proud of my guys that stayed focused and didn’t get caught up in the drama.”
The nerves by the host Trojans showed early on. Starting pitcher, junior Zach Fiene, walked the leadoff hitter who would eventually come around to score on a passed ball.
Petaluma showed their offensive prowess, responding right away. Senior Joe Brown reached on a fielder’s choice and would come around to score on an infield single by senior Wyatt Davis to tie things up at one.
From that moment on, a collection of Ukiah hits and Petaluma mistakes kept things in favor of the visitors. Ukiah loaded the bases on a pair of singles and a walk. Senior Caleb Ford gave the Wildcats the lead on an RBI single to go up 2-1. Another walk brought home a second run in the inning. Senior Austin Ford would deliver the big blow with a two-run single to push the lead to 5-1.
“We were just capitalizing on mistakes,” Aaron Ford said. “We peaked at the right time, playing our best ball in the playoffs.”
Senior Austin Ford was also the one on the mound for Ukiah. After a shaky first inning, he was dominant. He allowed just two base runners after that opening frame en route to a complete game, three-hit, one-run performance. He recorded five punchouts along the way.
“I always have a little bit of nerves coming into a game but it keeps me locked in,” Austin Ford said.
The sticks for the Wildcats kept on coming. After two quick outs by junior relief pitcher Jack Palmer, an error opened the door for a two-out rally. Another error brought home senior Jace Pullins. A passed ball scored junior Hunter Schnitzius extending the lead to 7-1.
Caleb Ford recorded his second RBI single of the afternoon giving Ukiah an 8-1 lead after three innings of play.
Austin Ford singled to lead off the fourth. With runners on second and third, a diving stop by shortstop Colton Dilena had the runner on second in a rundown scenario, but decided to throw to first, letting the runner head to third and letting Austin Ford score to make it 9-1.
Schnitzius doubled home two more runs to make it an even ten-run lead. Now, this game was in danger of being done early.
Ukiah recorded a pair of insurance runs in the fifth to push the lead to 13-1 thanks to two more errors by the Trojans. Petaluma finished with seven errors on the afternoon.
Austin Ford struck out the final three batters to end the ballgame early and it finished off Ukiah’s first section championship.
“Nobody thought a nine seed would do what we did,” Aaron Ford said. “It’s about the kids and we’ll try to enjoy the moment because these moments don’t come too often. But right now, they won a section title and I’m proud of them.”
Austin Ford was thrilled, yet humble, postgame following the celebration of the championship.
“It feels good, I didn’t know we were the first team to win an NCS championship,” Austin Ford said. “We worked hard for this.”
All four of Ukiah’s postseason wins have come on the road, something that is recognized by Aaron Ford.
“Those were advantages for the higher seed, Ukiah showed up at Vintage, Marin Catholic, Casa Grande and here [Petaluma],” Aaron Ford said. “It doesn’t matter to us, we still have to play who’s in front of us but we had to do the things we have been working on and stayed consistent.”
Ukiah will receive an automatic berth in the first ever CIF Nor Cal Championships that will be announced Sunday night.
Petaluma still has an outside shot of earning one of the three at-large Nor Cal berths but will have to wait and see if they are selected.
