LOWER LAKE — Kyle Poloni went 4-for-5 with a double and an RBI and Jaime Chavez tossed a two-hitter Tuesday as the Kelseyville Indians clinched a tie for the North Central League I North varsity baseball championship with a 15-1 five-inning victory over the Lower Lake Trojans on Tuesday in Lower Lake.
Kelseyville”s win combined with Middletown”s 2-1 victory at Fort Bragg on Tuesday sets up a showdown on Friday in Kelseyville, where the Indians (6-1 North, 12-5 overall) will host the Mustangs (5-2, 16-4) in the regular-season finale for both teams. If Middletown wins, the two teams will share the title.
Chavez gave the Indians exactly what they needed … a complete game, according to coach Steve Olson.
“He threw a lot of strikes and gave us a chance to score runs and not find ourselves in pressure situations,” said Olson, who was able to conserve his pitching staff.
“We have a (non-league) game Thursday at home against Healdsburg, then we play Middletown on Friday,” Olson said.
Kelseyville took all the suspense out of the Lower Lake game early, scoring three runs in the first and seven more in the second for a 10-0 lead.
Poloni anchored Kelseyville”s 13-hit attack.
“He had a big day,” Olson said. “He hit a couple to left field and also went the other way a couple of times. He hits the ball to all fields … there are a lot of hits in his bat.”
Curt Lawson, Scott Krohn and Louie Martinez had two hits apiece for the Indians. Martinez also had a double and three RBIs.
Chavez struck out nine and walked none.
Joel Valencia and Matt Parks had the only hits for the Trojans (0-7, 1-12). Parks singled home the Trojans” lone run in the bottom of the fourth.
