Brody VonBehren drove in a run in the first inning and two more in the third inning to help lift Novato North to a 4-1 victory against Twin Cities in the District 3 Little League Championship at Joe Wagner Field in Larkspur on Sunday.

Novato North forced Sunday’s decisive game in the double-elimination format with a 3-1 victory on Saturday.

Ian Bowman got Novato North off to a quick start with an RBI single in the first, scoring Gabe Oliveros to make it 1-0. VonBehren’s fielder’s choice scored Bowman to put Novato North up 2-0.

Novato North strung together a two-out rally in the third to double the lead to 4-0. Cyrus Bentaleb drew a walk then Bowman and Enzo Martinelli followed with back-to-back singles to load the bases. VonBehren hit a single into left field to score two runners.

Twin Cities scored a run in the bottom of the third on a single by Dylan Christensen to make the score 4-1. Twin Cities was held hitless the rest of the way, however, drawing a walk in the fifth and another in the sixth.

Novato North starting pitcher Bentaleb worked five innings, allowing four hits and one earned run while striking out five. Kingston Jepma pitched the sixth inning to earn the save.

Bowman had a game-high three hits while Martinelli and Jack Hession each had two for Novato North, which advances to the section playoffs. The two teams have met in the championship game of their age group in Little League each of the past four seasons with Novato North emerging victorious three times. Twin Cities won in 2023 and went on to win the NorCal title.

11s championship >> Josh Correa pitched a complete-game three-hitter to lead Novato North to a 3-0 victory against crosstown rival Novato South in the District 3 Little League 11s championship game at Joe Wagner Field on Sunday.

Correa and Novato South’s Henry Hemmelgarn were locked in a pitchers’ duel until the top of the sixth inning when Correa hit a two-run double to give Novato North a 2-0 lead. Rory Dunlap followed with an RBI single to extend the lead to 3-0.

Correa closed the door in the bottom of the sixth, inducing a line out, a ground out, and a strikeout to finish the game.

Novato North bounced back following a 4-1 loss against Novato South on Saturday in the double-elimination format. Novato North advances to the section playoffs following the win.

9-10s championship >> Hunter Coghlan and Oliver Drullinger pitched three innings each, combining on a no-hitter as Twin Cities won the District 3 9-10s title game with a 7-1 victory against Ross Valley at Joe Wagner Field on Sunday.

Coghlan worked the first three innings, walking five and striking out four. Drullinger worked the final three innings, striking out four against no walks but allowing an unearned run.

The Twin Cities offense came alive late with five runs in the top of the sixth for the final margin. Ted Bedecarre had two hits and drove in two runs for Twin Cities, which advances to the section playoffs. Beau Leibick had two hits, drew a walk, drove in a run, and scored twice.

Ross Valley scored its run in the fourth inning on a hit by pitch, a fielder’s choice, and a pair of errors.

Baseball

The San Rafael Pacifics capped a successful holiday weekend with an 11-8 road win against the Monterey Amberjacks on Sunday.

The victory was the third in a row for the Pacifics (28-11 Pecos League). San Rafael scored three runs in the third, fourth, and fifth innings to build a 10-1 lead then held off a late charge by Monterey (8-25-1).

Kyle Guerra and Fred Buckson had four hits apiece to pace the Pacifics. Guerra — who had a team-high three RBIs — and John Bicos hit their ninth and 11th home runs of the season, respectively.

San Rafael was coming off a 10-5 home victory over the Dublin Leprechauns (20-15-1) on Saturday night. The Pacifics scored twice in the third inning and four times in the fourth.

Bicos led the way with four hits. Payton Rios and Gino Hutchinson had three RBIs apiece.

Basketball

The Marin County Free Throw Championships are returning following a five-year hiatus and are set to be held at Archie Williams High at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday.

The fundraising event was first held in 2008 and ran until 2020 when it was shuttered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event is open to people of all ages and proceeds raised will be used to help those in need in Fairfax, San Anselmo, and San Geronimo Valley.

For more info, email saintvincentdepaul@strita.edu or call (415) 454-6420.