Petaluma Rolls Into American Legion World Series Semis

A weekend that began with Petaluma on the brink of elimination from the American Legion World Series ended with the Leghorns on the brink of the championship game.

After stumbling in the first round of the double-elimination tournament, the Western regional champions have bounced back with two straight wins.

A 3-1 victory over Central Plains regional champion Burnsville (Minn.) on Sunday sent the Leghorns to the World Series semifinals, where they'll face Mid-Atlantic regional champion Brooklawn (N.J.) in a game scheduled for 5:30 (Pacific time) that will be streamed live on ESPN3 (all American Legion World Series games, including ones already played, can be viewed on ESPN3).

The Leghorns defeated Northeast region champion Branford (Conn.) 6-3 on Saturday to extend their life in the tournament after opening with an 8-5 loss to Mid-South regional champion Gonzalez (La.) in a first-round on Friday.

Scott Hilbert pitched six solid innings for the win in the Burnsville game. He struck out four batters and allowed one run on five hits and three walks. Jimmy Flatt pitched three shutout innings for the save.

The Leghorns took a 1-0 lead in a wild bottom of the second inning. Ryan Walsh struck out for an apparent third out, but took first on a passed ball and scored when Charles Parnow followed with a double down the right field line.

Robert Busse hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the third to stretch Petaluma's lead to 3-0.

Weston Bryan had three hits and two RBI to lead the Leghorns in the Branford game. Blake Patrick and Ryan Walsh each drove in two runs and Chase Stafford had two hits.

Brandon Hageria pitched eight strong innings for the win, allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits and no walks. Flatt pitched a scoreless ninth for the save.