Kelseyville tops Lower Lake 6-1, Middletown hammers Upper Lake 21-2
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KELSEYVILLE >> In a game stopped by rain in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Kelseyville Knights beat the Lower Lake Trojans 6-1 in North Central League I varsity baseball action Tuesday afternoon at Lloyd Larson Field.
The Knights (2-1 league, 3-9 overall) won their second straight, the first time this season they’ve won back-to-back games. They had the bases loaded with no outs in the fifth and their best hitter (JD Smart) coming to the plate when umpires called it.
“When they did call it it was raining, but I thought it was still playable,” Kelseyville head coach Billy Shaul said of field conditions.
Lower Lake (0-3, 3-7-1) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning on Jordan Rohrbacker’s RBI single. Kelseyville tied it with a run in the bottom half, then moved ahead to stay with a three-run third inning followed by a two-run fourth.
Winning pitcher Reese Johnson allowed only the one hit to Rohrbacker while tossing a complete game. He struck out seven and walked one.
Brayton Thomas went 2-for-3 with a RBI and Smart added two more hits. Carson Stone went 1-for-3.
The Knights drew a number of walks and stranded seven runners.
The same two teams meet again Friday in Lower Lake at 4 p.m.
In other NCL I baseball action Tuesday:
Middletown 21, Upper Lake 2 (5 inn.)
At Upper Lake, Middletown starter Blake Costlow and reliever Madden Sutton combined on a five-inning no-hitter as the Middletown Mustangs.
Middletown (2-1, 6-4) sent 12 batters to the plate and scored seven times in the top of the first inning before Costlow had thrown his first pitch in the bottom of the inning. The Mustangs batted around again in the third, sending 14 batters to the plate and scoring eight runs.
Eight of Middletown’s nine starters collected at least one hit. Sutton (3-for-5, 2 RBIs). Led the way while Costlow went 2-for-4 with a triple and four RBIs.
After Costlow worked the first 1 2/3 innings, Sutton earned the win in relief, striking out six and walking one in 3 1/3 innings.
Upper Lake starter George Rahmer took the loss.
The Cougars (0-3, 2-7) scored twice in the bottom of the second on run-scoring passed balls.
“We need to play catch a lot better,” Upper Lake head coach Don Meri said of his defense. “Middletown is a good team. They can hit the ball and they run the bases very well.
While it drizzled a bit during the game, according to Meri, the rain held off until after the game ended.
The same two teams square off Friday at Wes Martin Field in Middletown at 4 p.m.
