LOWER LAKE — Jesus Fonseca held the North Central League I North-leading Fort Bragg Timberwolves at bay for the better part of five innings on Monday, but the Lower Lake Trojans couldn”t hold a 2-0 lead and fell 8-2 in varsity baseball action at Lower Lake.
At least the Trojans — and the Timberwolves — beat the rain with an early 2:30 p.m. start at Fort Bragg”s request.
“They have some testing going on and they wanted to play early,” Lower Lake coach Chris Emberson said. “We got it in before the rain started.”
Fonseca tripled home a run in the bottom of the first inning and hit a sacrifice fly in the third to give the Trojans (0-5 North, 3-14 overall) a 2-0 lead. He then held that lead on the mound, taking a shutout into the top of the fifth. That”s when Fort Bragg broke through with six runs, only two of which were earned.
“We made two crucial errors,” Emberson said.
Fort Bragg added insurance runs in the sixth and seventh while improving to 5-0 in the North standings. The Timberwolves need one win in their final three games to clinch a tie for the title and two wins to win the league pennant outright.
Fonseca departed after 4 1/3 innings. He struck out four and walked only one.
“He does it all,” Emberson said of the versatile Fonseca, who catches for the Trojans when he”s not on the mound. “He just can”t go seven. He tires after four or five and we”re not deep.”
George Novak went 2-for-2 and scored twice for Lower Lake. Joe Riggs and Richard Gutierrez had the Trojans” other hits.
Cody Lowe capped Fort Bragg”s scoring with a home run to deep left field in the top of the seventh, a blast that cleared the house beyond the left-field fence.
Lower Lake returns to action Friday in Kelseyville at 4 p.m.
