Clear Lake prevails 9-8, snapping Knights’ 42-game league run at Lakeport
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LAKEPORT >> While ending Kelseyville’s 42-game North Central League I winning streak and snapping an eight-game losing skid to their archrivals were lofty accomplishments that the Clear Lake Cardinals savord Tuesday after beating the Knights 9-8 at Lakeport, neither of those things brought the most satisfaction for head coach Brian Horne and company.
With Kelseyville (11-1 league, 16-4) needing a win to clinch no worse than a share of a third straight league title, Clear Lake (8-3, 13-5) simply didn’t want the Knights celebrating on their field.
“Make them celebrate someplace else,” said Horne, Clear Lake’s head coach. “They’re not doing it here.”
No league opponent had beaten Kelseyville since St. Helena last did it on May 6, 2022 – exactly three years to the day – with a 13-9 victory at Kelseyville.
“They’re a great team,” Horne said of the Knights, who went 14-0 in league play last season, 16-0 in 2023, and were 11-0 entering Tuesday’s game in Lakeport. “We had to face their ace (Brock Barrick) and we ended up hitting all three of their pitchers pretty well. He’s a great pitcher, but I think our bats wore him down early. We had some long at-bats and ran up his pitch count.”
Barrick departed after four innings trailing 6-2 and on the hook for the loss. The Knights got him off the hook by scoring four times in the top of the fifth to pull even at 6-6.
Clear Lake wasted no time reclaiming the lead, scoring three times in the bottom of the fifth against reliever Gene Holdenried, who last only two-thirds of an inning. Jesse Hayes led off the fifth with a single and Johnny Gonzales and AJ Bruch followed with singles, Bruch’s hit scoring Hayes and giving the Cardinals a 7-6 lead. After another single by Ryken Villanueva loaded the bases, the hero of the game for Clear Lake, junior Zane McAuley, doubled home the final two of his five runs batted in to make it 9-6.
McAuley finished the game 4-for-4 with a RBI single in the first, a two-run double in the third and the two-run double in the fifth that proved to be the game-winning hit.
“He had a great game,” Horne said of McAuley. “What a day.”
The game was still a long way from being done at that point. Kelseyville closed to 9-8 in the top of the sixth against reliever AJ Bruch, who replaced winning pitcher Sawyer Smith after his five-inning stint. Kyle Watkins’ sacrifice fly cut the Clear Lake lead to 9-7 and a run-scoring wild pitch made it 9-8.
Kelseyville put the potential tying run on base in the top of the seventh when Max Hommer drew a leadoff walk, but he never advances past first base.
“We tried to advance him with a bunt, but we couldn’t get the bunt down and ended up popping up,” Kelseyville head coach Billy Shaul said.
Bruch got the next two Kelseyville batters to fly out and ground out to end the game, earning the save.
Clear Lake’s three-run fifth made a winner of Smith, who threw his last pitch in the top half of the inning when the Knights rallied to tie the game at 6-6. His teammates made him a winner by taking the lead in the bottom half.
“I probably left him in a little bit too long,” Horne said of Smith, who has been throwing the ball especially well for the Cardinals of late.
While Kelseyville had its worst defensive game of the year, and certainly in league play, Shaul had nothing but praise for Clear Lake’s play.
“They hit the ball well the first time we played them,” Shaul said of a 7-3 Kelseyville win over the Cardinals on April 11 at Kelseyville. Barrick also faced Clear Lake in that game, earning the victory.
While the loss prevented Kelseyville from clinching a tie for the league title, the Knights host Cloverdale on Friday with a chance to do exactly that.
“That was a tough one,” Shaul said of losing to its archrival to end one of the more impressive winning streaks by a Lake County team in any sport. “Streaks are nice, but we want to hang banners. Now we get to start a new streak.”
After playing Cloverdale, the Knights remain at home to take on Fort Bragg (10-2) next Tuesday, which could be a huge game for both teams depending on the results of Friday’s games – Cloverdale at Kelseyville and St. Helena at Fort Bragg. If Kelseyville and Fort Bragg both win, the Knights will need a victory against the Timberwolves to prevent them from claiming a share of the league title.
Shaul said a loss to its archrival may be just the kick in the butt the Knights need to refocus for their final two league games and the North Coast Section playoffs that follow.
“I think we were a little bit too amped up today, but we did a good job of fighting back when we got down,” Shaul said.
“It definitely made this win 100 percent more special,” Horne said of ending the Cardinals’ losing streak to Kelseyville while also snapping the Knights’ 42-game run. “I’ve known most of their kids for a long time, and they’ve had a great run. This left a sour taste in their mouths, but we’re their rivals and that’s what we’re supposed to. They’re great kids, but so are my guys, and I couldn’t be any more proud of them.”
Besides McAuley, several Cardinals have a good day at the plate, including Smith (3-for-4), double), Gonzales (3-for-3), David Cruz (3-for-4, RBI), Hayes (2-for-3), Bruch (2-for-4) and Jacob Horne (2-for-4, two RBIs).
For Kelseyville, Reme Strong went 2-for-4 with a triple and RBI while Barrick, Watkins and Hommer all had a hit and two RBIs apiece.
“We gave ourselves a chance,” Shaul said.
“It was a great game,” Horne added. “Neither team gave up.”
Clear Lake hits the road Friday to play Lower Lake at 4 p.m.