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Sports

Novato Captures District Babe Ruth League Championship with Late Rally

Team avenges earlier loss against North Bay thanks to eight-run sixth inning at Sinaloa diamond.

The Novato Babe Ruth 13-Year-Old All-Star team stormed back from an 7-3 deficit at cold and windy Narcissi-Testa Field to recapture the District 2 championship July 11 with an 11-7 victory over North Bay.

By winning at the at Sinaloa Middle School diamond, Novato moves on to the State Tournament July 16-21 in Mountain View. The team open against the host team at 7 p.m. Saturday at McKelvy Park.

Novato sent 13 batters to the plate in the decisive eight-run sixth inning against North Bay. Adrian Gonzales sent a long drive to right center to plate two runners and give Novato the lead for the first time in the game at 9-7.

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Patrick Butler took the mound for the seventh inning struck out the side to send the Novato players and fans into celebration.

Butler, Nolan Pelletier and R.J. Balderama each had three hits for Novato. Drew Treppa had two doubles and Nick Gernhard had a double and a single. Pelletier spun a two-hitter over six innings, giving up only one earned run to get the win. He also had a RBI single that tied the game at 7-7.

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It was a tough loss for North Bay, which had forced the Monday game with a come-from-behind win of its own, 8-7 over Novato on Sunday. In that game, it was Novato who broke out to a 7-3 lead, only to be victimized by a two-out, sixth-inning rally by North Bay.

Butler led off the Novato sixth-inning rally with a line drive single, and Balderama followed with another hit. It looked like North Bay lefthander John Plinski would work out of another jam when he got a forceout and popout. But Nick Corbani lined a two-out, two-strike single to get Novato to 7-4.

Treppa's long two-strike double to right center drove in Bradley Dalyrymple and brought Pelletier to the plate with Corbani at third and Treppa at second with the tying run. Pelletier singled to tie the game, and after a pitching change Gernhard kept the two-out rally going with a single to left. Gonzales then sent a long drive to right center for two more runs and a 9-7 lead.

After another change of pitchers, Butler and Balderama each had their second hits in the inning to pile on two more runs.

Tyler Kelley had three hits for North Bay. 

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