TAM’S SEASON ENDS WITH LOSS in semis - Marin Independent Journal

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TAM’S SEASON ENDS WITH LOSS in semis

Red-tailed Hawks fall behind by six runs against Rancho Cotate

Tam pitcher Eli Solem (4) covers home plate as Caden Bolin Percy (17) of Ranch Cotate scores on a passed ball during their North Coast Section Division II semifinal against Rancho Cotate in Mill Valley on Tuesday. PHOTOS BY SHERRY LAVARS — MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL

Tam starting pitcher Eli Solem (4) throws against Rancho Cotate during their North Coast Section Division II semifinal against Rancho Cotate in Mill Valley on Tuesday.

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By Derek Wilson

dewilson@marinij.com

Tam High’s deep playoff run ended too soon for the Red-tailed Hawks but, after all the tears and the emotion, it was a season to remember.

The sixth-seeded Red-tailed Hawks (19-9) couldn’t match the power of the upstart No. 15 Rancho Cotate Cougars in Wednesday’s 6-1 loss with a shot at the North Coast Section Division II championship on the line.

“We were a bunch of nobodies coming in who nobody thought would do anything,” Tam’s first-year head coach Patrick Collins-Bride said after Wednesday’s semifinal loss. “‘Just try to make the playoffs’ is what I heard a lot, and we made a run at the championships.”

Tam’s last NCS championship came in 2014, a 3-1 victory over Alhambra in the D-III title game. Meanwhile, Rancho Cotate (16-12) took another big step closer to its first NCS pennant.

“This was a season to never forget,” Collins-Bride said. “It’s illogical to me to let one loss devalue an entire season.”

The Cougars connected off Tam starting pitcher Eli Solem for four earned runs on seven hits through 4.1 innings. Solem struck out five batters and walked two, throwing aggressive heaters. Reliever Jackson Van Til struck out two batters and allowed one hit in 2.2 innings.

Cougars pitcher Camden Henington had a shutout going until Will Gensler hit a solo home run over the left field fence in the sixth inning. Henington gave up just two hits, walked two batters and struck out five.

“Rancho Cotate is playing great baseball at the right time,” Collins-Bride said.

The Cougars put up three runs in the top of the first inning against Solem and the Hawks, who were making their first NCS semifinal appearance since 2017.

Rancho Cotate’s Jeremiah Olivera, who led off the game with a base hit, eventually scored from third on a two-out single by Caden Bolin. A high fly ball to shallow left field from Gauge Cummings got caught in the cross breeze and dropped for an RBI single. Bolin, who was standing on third, then stole home on a wild pitch for a 3-0 Cougars lead.

Tam didn’t have the speed on the base paths to beat Rancho Cotate’s defense on the left side of the infield. Bolin at third and shortstop Jett Derammelaere gobbled up all the ground balls hit their way.

“Their shortstop (Derammelaere) made too many good plays,” Collins-Bride said.

Tam made a few costly mistakes as well. The Hawks were able to mitigate most of the damage, but not all.

The Cougars’ Luke Morie, after a line-drive single, stole second and third, then stole home on a wild pitch as catcher Anthony Murphy scrambled to pitch the ball to Solem at the plate, but not in time for the out.

Murphy dropped a popup by Cummings in the fifth inning to load the bases, then Cooper Reichert came up with an RBI single to center field as the Cougars pushed their lead to 5-0, forcing Solem from the mound.

Rancho Cotate’s Marshall Lemons then hit a grounder to short to score Bolin for a six-run lead.

“My hat’s off to these guys,” Collins-Bride said of his team, which includes 15 seniors, most of whom he coached on the Tam freshman squad. “The seniors, especially, set the tone all year and I’m just proud of them. These guys have sacrificed so much of their lives and their time for this program, and I’m honored to be their coach.”