KELSEYVILLE — Believe it or not, Justin Lilly didn”t have his best stuff on Friday afternoon as the Kelseyville Knights traveled to St. Helena for a non-league varsity baseball game against the Saints.
“It”s tough to say that about a kid who just threw a no-hitter, but I think he had better stuff against Red Bluff,” Kelseyville coach Lou Poloni said after watching Lilly no-hit the Saints 11-0.
The game was called after five innings because of the 10-run rule.
Lilly threw only 68 points, 20 of which came in the first inning.
“I remember thinking, ?I don”t know how long he”s going to last if he keeps throwing that many pitches,”” Poloni said. “But he looked really good and he was pumping strikes in there.”
Lilly improved to 2-0 as the Knights went to 4-2 on the season. His first win came against Red Bluff earlier this month.
“He had good command but his velocity was a little off,” Poloni said. “But his breaking ball was good and he was hitting his spots.”
Lilly struck out five and walked two. He didn”t allow a runner past second base.
Kelseyville staked its pitcher to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. The Knights didn”t score again until the fourth, going up 3-0, and they put the game away with an eight-run fifth, an inning in which Mike Duman (3-for-4) hit a solo home run and a run-scoring double. He finished with four RBIs.
Also for Kelseyville, Blake Panos went 2-for-3 with two doubles, and Lilly helped his own cause with two hits and two RBIs.
The Knights are home today to play Ferndale in a non-league doubleheader that begins at 11 a.m. at Lloyd Larson Field.
In other action Friday:
Lower Lake 10, Upper Lake 0
At Upper Lake, Jesus Fonseca tossed a three-hitter and struck out seven as the Lower Lake Trojans nailed down their first win of the 2009 high school baseball season with a victory over the Upper Lake Cougars.
“Chuey (Fonesca) pitched awesome, he dominated them,” Lower Lake coach Chris Emberson said.
Fonseca issued no walks and his defense played solidly behind him, turning a 6-4-3 double play and throwing out Upper Lake”s Sloan Hennig in the bottom of the first inning when the Cougars” leadoff hitter tried to stretch a single into a double.
Fonseca also had one of the Trojans” eight hits, drove in a run and scored twice. Eddie Sears doubled and scored three times and Joe Riggs went 1-for-3 with a RBI and scored twice.
Brandon Bills and Anthony Driscoll had the only other hits against Fonseca, who struck out the side in the bottom of the third.
“He had excellent control and hit his spots,” Upper Lake coach Greg Smith said. “And we didn”t hit him.”
Lower Lake (1-4) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, added four more runs in the third and then broke the game open with a five-run fourth.
Upper Lake is 1-5.
Lower Lake travels to Fort Bragg on Tuesday.
