St. Helena knocks Clear Lake back into first-place tie atop varsity baseball standings
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ST. HELENA >> With a chance to take control of the North Central League I varsity baseball race, the Clear Lake Cardinals fell back into a tie for first place following an 8-3 loss to the St. Helena Saints on Tuesday afternoon at St. Helena.
One day after beating St. Helena 14-3 in five innings at Lakeport, a victory that moved the Cardinals (5-1 league, 9-6-1) atop the league standings and left them as the only undefeated team, the Saints (5-1, 10-6) bounced right back with a gut-check win at home, guaranteeing there will be no undefeated NCL I champion for a second year in a row.
“They seized the opportunities,” Clear Lake head coach Brian Horne said of the Saints, who made the most of the Cardinals’ four errors, just as Clear Lake capitalized on St. Helena errors in its win Monday at home.
“We had the big emotional game yesterday (Monday),” Horne said. “Today we were back on our heels.”
Horne said all four of the Cardinals’ errors came at the worst possible time.
“All four errors were crucial,” he said.
Clear Lake starting pitcher AJ Bruch and St. Helena starter Charlie Blaum were locked in a pitcher’s duel through the first three innings with Clear Lake ahead 1-0 after scoring a run in the top of the second. Blaum pitched a scoreless top of the fourth before the Saints pulled ahead in the bottom half, scoring three times.
“AJ was cruising before they scored three in the fourth,” Horne said, an inning that opened with an error by the Cardinals.
Clear Lake got back even with two runs in the top of the fifth, but St. Helena scored in the bottom of the inning for a 4-3 lead and then put the game away with a four-run sixth, aided greatly by two Clear Lake errors.
Bruch pitched a complete game, allowing eight hits and only two earned runs while striking out six and walking one.
“Our boys were pressing for some reason,” Horne said.
St. Helena snapped a four-game losing streak to Clear Lake as well as Clear Lake’s 10-game league winning streak dating back to last season.
“Hopefully we can bounce back against Middletown,” Horne said of Clear Lake’s two games next week against the Mustangs (home Tuesday and away Friday).
Zane McAuley went 2-for-3 with a triple and RBI against St. Helena while Jesse Hayes went 2-for-2 and Ezekiel Lopez 1-for-3 with a RBI. Johnny Gonzales III and Sawyer Smith had Clear Lake’s other hits.
Blaum scattered seven hits while picking up the win for St. Helena. He struck out three and walked five.
Julian Earls powered the Saints at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a triple and three RBIs. Henry Ray went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs while Adam Herdell (1-for-3), Tyler Agapoff (1-for-3) and Cole Joy (1-for-3) all had one RBI.
As a result of St. Helena’s win and Kelseyville’s 14-0 victory in five innings at Upper Lake, the three teams are now in a virtual tie for first place. Kelseyville (4-1) will move in a flat-footed tie with a win Friday at home against Upper Lake. Clear Lake and St. Helena are both off until Tuesday.
