Kelseyville shuts out Fort Bragg to complete perfect first half in league play
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FORT BRAGG >> Brock Barrick’s one-hitter could have just as easily been a no-hitter on Friday afternoon as the Kelseyville Knights put a choke hold on the North Central League I varsity baseball race with a 3-0 victory over the Fort Bragg Timberwolves in Fort Bragg.
Kelseyville, winning on a one-hitter for the second game in a row, reaches the midpoint of the league race at 7-0 while its closest pursuers – St. Helena (5-2), Clear Lake (4-2) and Fort Bragg (4-2) — all have two losses.
Time to celebrate?
Hardly, according to head coach Billy Shaul, who said the Knights, now 12-2 overall, can’t afford to let up for a second.
“We can’t give up anything,” Shaul said with a tip of his cap to those three teams chasing Kelseyville for first place.
The Knights have to play all three of those teams again in the second half, so there’s still a long way to go, according to Shaul.
“They’re a good team,” Shaul said of the Timberwolves, who dropped their second straight in league play after a 4-0 start. “They’ve got good pitching, and we struck out too many times against them (eight). We struck out more than they did (against Brock).”
While no NCL I team has beaten the two-time defending champions since late in the 2022 season, Fort Bragg has been one of the tougher opponents for the Knights during that stretch, a streak they extended to 38 wins in a row Friday.
Fort Bragg’s only hit was nothing more than a grounder that forced the first baseman to field the ball moving to his right. It would have been a routine out except for one thing, according to Shaul.
“Brock forgot to cover first,” Shaul said.
Fort Bragg mounted its only scoring threat of the game in the bottom of the first, but a 6-4-3 double play ended that in a hurry.
“That was their only threat. They didn’t threaten again,” Shaul said.
In fact, Fort Bragg didn’t get its next base runner until the bottom of the sixth when Barrick hit a batter.
Barrick’s effectiveness improved in the late innings. All seven of his strikeouts came after the third inning. He struck out the side in the fifth and two more in the seventh.
“His velocity stayed the same, but his off-speed pitch got better later in the game,” Shaul said of Barrick’s 84-pitch complete game.
Kelseyville staked its ace to the only run he would need in the top of the first when Kyle Watkins walked, was sacrificed to second, stole third base and scored on Tyler Bryant’s sacrifice fly.
The Knights gave Barrick a little extra breathing room in the sixth. Barrick led off with a double and Bryant singled him to third before stealing second base. Max Hommer (2-for-3) worked the count full during a seven-pitch at-bat, finally driving a single back up the middle and into center field to score both runners.
“It was a great at-bat by Max,” Shaul said.
Watkins and Carson White also had hits in the win.
Kelseyville takes a break from its league schedule Saturday to host Rancho Cotate at noon. The Knights resume NCL I play Tuesday at Lower Lake to begin the second half. First pitch is 4 p.m.
