KELSEYVILLE — It was windy and cold but it also was fast.
Casey Bowlin flirted with a no-hitter and settled for a one-hitter as the Kelseyville Knights, led by the youngsters in their lineup, shut out the St. Helena Saints 3-0 in North Central League I interlock softball action on Tuesday at Kelseyville, a game that took less than 90 minutes to complete.
Bowlin, a junior, carried a no-hitter into the top of the seventh inning. She retired the first batter she faced before allowing a triple to St. Helena senior Alicia Regusci. But Bowlin stranded Regusci at third base to preserve the shutout and give the Knights (2-5) their second win of the season.
“She got one up in the wind and it carried over the head of my right fielder and went to the wall,” Kelseyville coach Greg Giusti said of Regusci”s hit, which came on a 1-1 fastball down the middle. “She (Bowlin) challenged her and she hit it. She tagged it.”
While Bowlin was shutting out the Saints, her St. Helena counterpart, Arica Covey, was tossing a four-hitter against the Knights. The difference was Kelseyville”s Nos. 5-6 hitters, who came through in the clutch.
Amanda Mueller, a sophomore, singled home a run in the bottom of the second and it remained a 1-0 game until the fourth, when another sophomore, Courtney Haskett, singled home a run to make it 2-0. Mueller added another RBI single in the inning to give the Knights and Bowlin a more comfortable 3-0 cushion.
Kelseyville committed a single error but received outstanding defense from a trio of its infielders, according to Giusti, but especially from junior second baseman Ashley Graham.
“She grabbed everything,” Giusti said. “She had a really strong outing on defense.”
Kelseyville”s corner infielders first baseman Lauren Giusti and third baseman Allyson Brown, also played well, according to Giusti.
“But it was Graham”s play in the field and Haskett and Mueller at the plate that really stood out,” Giusti said.
Mueller went 2-for-2. Brown had the Knights” other hit.
“It was just a solid team performance,” Giusti said.
The Knights return to action Friday against Clear Lake at 4 p.m.
