Marin Catholic and San Rafael spent nine innings Friday battling it out on the newly-christened Keith Fraser Field at San Rafael High, in honor of the Bulldogs’ longtime former baseball coach. Fraser, who died in January at the age of 86, would have been proud of both teams.

“There’s nothing Keith Fraser would have loved more than baseball on a Sunday, extra innings, it’s free baseball, right?” said Marin Catholic head coach Jesse Foppert, who played for Fraser at San Rafael.

It took a long drive to the center-field wall, nearly 370 feet, to bring Floyd Greene around for the winning run in the bottom of the ninth as the Bulldogs outlasted the Wildcats, 3-2.

Wildcats starter Liam Smith gave a solid performance through 6.2 innings, with three strikeouts, two walks and five hits. Marin Catholic had a chance to take the win in the seventh inning after some clever base running by Gaetano Polizzotti and Jake Lyall scored to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead. A grounder up the middle by San Rafael pinch hitter AJ Mazurette scored baserunner Dexter Jackson to tie the game, 2-2, in the bottom of the seventh.San Rafael ace Marcos Tolliver threw seven innings, with six strikeouts and four walks, before he gave the ball to reliever Lazlo Clements, who faced seven batters across two innings in the winning effort.

“There are a lot of pitchers in this league who will be competing for that Pitcher of the Year spot, and Tolliver is right there,” San Rafael head coach Aaron Kolotkin said. “I don’t care who we’re playing. We could be playing the Yankees and I’d feel like we have a chance with Marcos on the mound.”

The contest brought up some great memories for some of Fraser’s former players who were in attendance.

Kolotkin whiled away some pleasant hours waiting for the fish to bite, while listening to Fraser’s tales of fishing and baseball … two things both men cherished.

Kolotkin, who has been the varsity baseball coach at San Rafael High since 2011, has taken to heart the stories from Fraser, who spent 40 years coaching middle school and high school varsity baseball around Santa Rosa and San Rafael, including about 20 years at Terra Linda and San Rafael high schools. Fraser made the most of his other passion as the co-owner of the Loch Lomond Live Bait and Tackle Shop at the Loch Lomond Marina in San Rafael for more than 50 years. He also wrote “Keith Fraser’s Guide to Sturgeon Fishing” and was a regular contributor to the Marin Independent Journal’s past fishing report.

Kolotkin invited some of Fraser’s former players and friends to join a tribute to the San Rafael legend before Friday’s home game against Marin Catholic. Foppert, who pitched for the San Francisco Giants, is one of three of Fraser’s former players who made it to the big leagues. Fraser also coached former Major Leaguers Jerry Goff — who is also the father of Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff — and Will Venable, a former outfielder with the San Diego Padres and current assistant coach with the Texas Rangers.

“He and I talked a lot about baseball and a lot about fishing, and I loved hearing his stories about both,” Kolotkin said. “All his stories were great. One thing I always loved to do was to go to the bait shop, and there’d be a nonstop parade of Fraser’s ex-players who would come in just to say hi to him. They loved him. And he always had a highlight or a story to share about each player. He was a really special guy. It was clear how much meant to everyone he met.”

Kolotkin invited Fraser to meet with the San Rafael players every year just to talk with them and to share his stories.

“He and I are from different generations of coaching, obviously, but any time he told me anything about coaching, I listened,” Kolotkin said. “And I wanted our players to have a sense for the rich baseball history that San Rafael has. They don’t make coaches like Keith Fraser anymore.”

Another of Fraser’s players at San Rafael, Steve Berringer, is continuing the tradition of hard work and success he learned from his mentor. Berringer, who played on the 1994 championship team at College of Marin, took over as Mariners head coach in 2000 and since then has amassed more than 500 wins. At COM and with the Novato Knicks, Berringer has seen more than 10 of his former players selected in the MLB draft, and more go on to become coaches themselves.