LOWER LAKE >> Winning pitcher Tony Jones and reliever David Rank combined on a four-hitter Thursday afternoon as the Lower Lake Trojans knocked off the Tomales Braves 5-1 in non-league varsity baseball action at Lower Lake High School.
Tomales nicked Jones, the Trojans’ workhorse, for a run in the top of the first but didn’t score again.
“He looked pretty good out there today,” Lower Lake coach John McCarthy said of Jones, who struck out six, walked two and allowed all four of the Braves’ hits.
Lower Lake (3-4) pushed in front 2-1 in the bottom of the inning and added two more runs in the third to go up 4-1. The Trojans tacked on an insurance run in the fourth to make it 5-1.
“They played all seven innings for a change and that’s a big improvement for Lower Lake baseball,” McCarthy said of his players.
Rank threw a scoreless seventh, striking out one. He’ll likely get the start today when the Trojans travel to Santa Rosa to play Rincon Valley Christian at 4 p.m., their third game in five days.
Ian Stiles went 2-for-3 to lead Lower Lake at the plate against Tomales. Anthony Williams doubled to knock in a run and Isaiah Klein, Deangelo Alexander and Brendan Maninger also had hits.
The Trojans open their North Central League I schedule Tuesday in Fort Bragg at 4 p.m.
