KELSEYVILLE — With one mighty swing of the bat, Blake Panos jolted the Kelseyville Knights out of their peaceful slumber on a bitterly cold Tuesday afternoon at Lloyd Larson Field in Kelseyville.
Panos” two-run home run to right field capped a three-run rally in the bottom of the fourth inning that tied the score at 4 in the Knights” come-from-behind 8-4 victory over the St. Helena Saints in non-league varsity baseball action.
“We were sleepwalking right through it and Panos” home run woke us up,” Kelseyville coach Lou Poloni said. “It was a shot.”
Kelseyville added four more runs in the fifth to go up 8-4. The first three runs in the inning scored on Saints errors and Panos” RBI single capped the uprising.
The Knights left five runners on base in the first two innings while taking a 1-0 lead. St. Helena pushed ahead with a four-run top of the third, an error at third base opening the door for the Saints.
Mike DeGregorio, working in relief of starter Dakota Velez, blanked the Saints over the final 4 1/3 innings to register the victory. He allowed only one hit, struck out three and walked none.
“He pitched great,” Poloni said. “He held them there and we found a way to win. It wasn”t pretty, it”s not going to win you a championship, but it was a win.”
Panos, Max Huff and Jarred Wagner had two hits apiece for the Knights, now 1-1 on the season.
With a wind blowing in from left field and the temperature in the low 40s, Poloni said it was one of the coldest days he can remember at Lloyd Larson Field.
“It was in the top five as far as cold days go,” Poloni said. “It was brutal.”
