FORESTVILLE >> Kelseyville carried a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the fourth inning only to fall 11-3 to the El Molino Lions during non-league varsity baseball action on Saturday in Forestville.
It was the season opener for the Knights (0-1), who put runners in scoring position six of the seven innings but couldn’t come up with the key hits when they needed them most.
El Molino (2-1) scored all of its runs in two innings — a five-run fourth and a six-run fifth.
“The score wasn’t indicative of the feel of the game most of the way,” Kelseyville coach Lou Poloni said. “We had pretty good pitching for half of the game. A lot of positives came out of the game even though it was a loss.”
One of the positives was Jafeth Silva, who went 2-for-2 in the ninth spot in the Kelseyville batting order. He scored all of the Knights’ runs — single runs in the third, fifth and seventh innings.
“Jafeth had a nice day in the nine spot,” Poloni said. “And Tony (Marquardt) did a good job putting the ball in play with two strikes.”
Marquardt (0-for-3) didn’t have a hit in the game but did drive in two runs with productive outs.
Poloni also praised the play of Logan Barrick, who split time behind the plate and on the mound. The fourth and final Kelseyville pitcher on the day, Barrick worked a scoreless bottom of the sixth, allowing one hit and striking out one. He also had one of the Knights’ five hits.
Noah Lyndall, the team’s junior ace, started and pitched four-plus innings. He allowed nine runs (five earned) on seven hits, struck out four and walked five.
“Noah wasn’t great, but we wasn’t horrible,” Poloni said. “He struggled a little bit with his command.”
Poloni said El Molino, coming off an 11-3 win at Middletown on Friday, is a playoff-caliber team.
Kelseyville hosts Upper Lake on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m., McKinleyville on Friday at 3:30 p.m. and Arcata on Saturday in a doubleheader that begins at 11 a.m.
