LAKEPORT — A tiring Jared Templeton retired two straight batters with the potential tying runs on second and third base, and the Kelseyville Knights withstood a Clear Lake rally in the bottom of the seventh to beat the Cardinals 7-5 in a North Central League I interlock varsity baseball game on Friday at Lakeport.
Kelseyville, only 3-6 on the season, is 2-0 against Clear Lake. The Knights rallied to beat the Cardinals 6-5 a week ago in Kelseyville.
“It”s always nice,” a smiling Kelseyville coach Morgan Weiper said of the win against the Knights” archrivals.
Kelseyville has won three of its last four since starting the season 0-5 and the only loss in that span came on Wednesday when the Knights couldn”t hold an 8-2 lead in a 9-8 loss to the St. Helena Saints.
Clear Lake slipped to 4-3 despite making the Knights — and Weiper — sweat a bit in the bottom of the seventh.
Templeton, who went the distance to earn the victory, cruised into the seventh inning with a 7-2 lead. A fine defensive play by second baseman Joe Gatlyn, who threw out pinch-hitter Chaz Ballew from his knees on a slowly-hit grounder to the right side, opened the inning. But then Templeton walked Brian Strate and Connor McCrea. Pinch-hitter Alan Moses followed with a two-run double to left-center field and barely beat the relay to third while advancing on the throw home.
Clear Lake closed to 7-5 one batter later when another pinch-hitter, Corey Dillon, singled to score Moses. Dillon stole second before Nate Velez reached on an infield single to shortstop, putting runners at the corners. Velez promptly stole second base, moving the potential tying runs into scoring position.
If Templeton was waiting for Weiper to come out and get him, that wasn”t going to happen.
“We didn”t have a whole lot of pitching to back him up today, so we were trying to string him out as much as possible,” Weiper said of Templeton. “We needed him to stay out there and work through it and that”s what he did.”
Templeton retired Roman Rose on a high infield popup to shortstop for the second out of the inning. He jumped ahead of Nick Jordan with two quick strikes, worked the count to 2-2, and then struck him out swinging to end the game.
“We left too many runners on base,” Clear Lake coach Brian Figg said. “We need to be in sync. We can”t get two hits one inning and nothing the next. And when we get runners on base, we”re not getting them home.”
Most of the scoring in this one took place early.
Kelseyville jumped on Clear Lake starting pitcher Freddy Olloqui for three runs in the first inning and three more in the second. Gatlyn (3-for-4) singled home a run and Mike Duman followed with a two-run double in the top of the first to make it 3-0.
Clear Lake came back with two runs in the bottom of the inning, the first scoring on an error and the second on Olloqui”s double down the left-field line.
But Kelseyville, taking advantage of three Clear Lake errors in the top of the second, tacked on three more runs, all unearned, for a 6-2 lead. Lucas McBride”s RBI groundout and RBI doubles by Luis Martinez and Gatlyn gave Templeton and the Knights a comfortable cushion.
“It”s always nice to get an early lead,” Weiper said. “We hit the ball well again today but our ability to make the routine plays on defense as well as some hard ones was something we haven”t done much of. It was nice to see.”
It remained a 6-2 game until the top of the fifth when the Knights scored an unearned run against Clear Lake reliever Mike Zimmerman, a left-hander who turned in four solid innings of two-hit relief.
“We”re looking to develop him,” Figg said of Zimmerman. “He”s had three or four games like this where he”s come in and pitched two or three real solid innings. He”s proving himself to be an effective pitcher and we”re trying to figure out the best way to use him.”
Olloqui, who clearly didn”t have his best stuff against the Knights, went 2-for-3 with a double and a RBI to lead Clear Lake”s offense. Scott Luis went 2-for-3 with a double for Kelseyville.
“He gets off to slow starts and usually gets better as the game goes along,” Figg said of Olloqui. “He didn”t get into any sort of rhythm today.”
Weiper, while pleased with Templeton”s complete-game effort and the play of his defense, also had high praise for McBride, who made his first start behind the plate.
“He”s got a catcher”s arm and quick feet,” Weiper said of his former starting shortstop who was pressed into service when the Knights” regular starting catcher was lost for disciplinary reasons.
“He was the backbone of our victory today,” Weiper said.
