Kelseyville shuts out Upper Lake 18-0 while Clear Lake beats Cloverdale 8-3 at home
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UPPER LAKE >> Emptying their bench early, the Kelseyville Knights beat Upper Lake 18-0 in North Central League I varsity baseball action Tuesday in Upper Lake where the Cougars were holding their own until Kelseyville scored 14 runs in the top of the fourth inning.
Kelseyville (5-0 league, 9-2 overall) sent 19 batters to the plate and collected 11 of its 17 hits in the fourth.
“We didn’t get many walks, they were mostly hits,” Kelseyville head coach Billy Shaul said of his team’s big inning. Added Upper Lake head coach Don Meri, “I’ll take singles over walks any day. At least our pitchers gave our defense a chance to make a play.”
The Knights didn’t try to take the extra base when the game got out of hand, something Meri said he appreciated very much.
“They were going station to station,” Meri said. “I thanked him (Shaul) for doing that after the game.”
Kyler Brothers, Upper Lake’s ace last season and a late-season addition to the roster this year because of injuries he sustained in a motorcycle accident, started on the mound for the Cougars but left after one inning with back pain.
“I can’t tell you what would have happened if he had stayed in and pitched more innings, but I’m sure it would have been a more competitive game,” Meri said.
Shaul agreed. “He threw the ball well.”
Brothers struck out the first two batters he faced but went on to allow two runs, giving up a walk and a hit.
Brayton Thomas pitched three innings for the win for Kelseyville, which used three pitchers in all. He struck out six and walked none.
Max Hommer went 4-for-4 with two RBIs to lead the Knights. Tyler Bryant and JD Smart each had a pair of hits as well as three RBIs while Brock Barrick went 2-for-3. Carson White added two hits and Gene Holdenried had Kelseyville’s only extra-base hit, a double.
Landen Robinson, Jimmy Sanchez and George Rahmer had the only hits for the Cougars.
“Everyone got an at-bat, everyone got some playing time,” Shaul added.
“We played against a good team and they’re going to compound your mistakes,” Meri said of the Knights.
Kelseyville is home Friday to take on Clear Lake while Upper Lake travels to Lower Lake, a game matching two teams looking for their first league win.
In other NCL I baseball action Tuesday:
Clear Lake 8, Cloverdale 3
At Lakeport, Clear Lake starting pitcher Sawyer Smith left the game after four innings with a no-hitter and a 6-0 lead in his back pocket as the Cardinals prepared for their big Friday showdown with league-leading Kelseyville by beating the Cloverdale Eagles.
Smith struck out eight and walked four before giving way to reliever Peyton Portlock, who pitched the final three innings.
Cloverdale (1-2, 3-5) halved Clear Lake’s lead with three runs in the top of the fifth, but the Cardinals got two of those back in the sixth.
Johnny Gonzales went 4-for-4 with a RBI to propel a 15-hit attack. He also stole four bases and scored three times.
“We had a lot of great swings,” Clear Lake head coach Brian Horne said. “And we had six or seven other line drives that went right to people.”
Zane McAuley went 3-for-3 with a double and two RBIs, AJ Bruch (2-for-4) drove in two more runs, and Ryken Villanueva went 2-for-3. Other hits went to Portlock, Jesse Hayes, Jason Horne and David Cruz.
If Clear Lake (3-1, 8-3) beats archrival Kelseyville on Friday at Lloyd Larson Field, it would mark Kelseyville’s first league loss since late in the 2022 season.
“It would be nice to be the team that does it,” Horne said of ending Kelseyville’s 35-game win streak.
St. Helena 4, Lower Lake 3
At Lower Lake, the Lower Lake Trojans scored twice in the bottom of the seventh, that after St. Helena took a 4-1 lead with two runs in the top half of the inning, but the Saints held on for a 4-3 victory.
“A baserunning mistake cost us,” Lower Lake head coach Mike Huffman said of the bottom of the seventh.
AJ Myer singled home two runs with two outs to cut St. Helena’s lead to 4-3 but was gunned down trying to move up to second base, ending the game.
Losing pitcher Zach Jones left the game after five innings trailing 2-1. He allowed one hit and no earned runs while striking out six but also walking nine.
St. Helena’s two-run second inning was the result of multiple Trojans errors, according to Huffman. Lower Lake’s overall baserunning also left something to be desired.
“We were really happy getting them (Saints) to go to a second pitcher, but baserunning mistakes cost us,” he said.
Besides Myer’s 2-for-4 day at the plate and two RBIs, Luke Campbell went 2-for-4 with a RBI for the Trojans (0-3, 0-7). Jones (1-for-2) had a double, Brody Shield added a hit, and Eric Alonzo drove in a run.
The Trojans host the Upper Lake Cougars on Friday at 4 p.m.
Fort Bragg 7, Middletown 2
At Fort Bragg, the Fort Bragg Timberwolves improved to 3-0 in league play with a victory over the visiting Middletown Mustangs (1-3, 3-6-1).
Middletown took a 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning, but Fort Bragg came right back with three runs in the bottom half. The Timberwolves opened things up with a four-run fifth.
Jon Hawkins pitched a complete game for Middletown, allowing four earned runs while striking out six and walking two.
“Two innings of loss of mental focus hurt us today,” Middletown head coach Kyle Buckhorn said. “To be honest, today was the best baseball we have played all year, the kids were battling and barreling the ball, but it’s just baseball sometimes. They find holes sometimes.”
On Hawkins’ complete-game effort, Buckhorn said, “He must have been in one-ball, two-strike counts on almost every batter. We just need him to hit the spots a little better with two strikes. There were too many balls over the middle of the plate.”
Cody de Jong and Kelby Shook each went 2-for-3 with a double and a RBI. Johnny Finney, Blake Costlow and Hayden Xavier also had hits.
“All in all, I was proud of the kids’ effort to travel three hours and come out hitting the ball,” Buckhorn said. “If we cut down the mental mistakes, we win this game.”
Middletown hosts St. Bernard’s of Eureka in a non-league doubleheader Friday beginning at 1 p.m.
