LOWER LAKE >> El Molino completed its road swing through Lake County on Thursday and apparently there’s no place like home for the Lions, who fell 15-1 to the Lower Lake Trojans in non-league softball action at Lower Lake High School.
Two days after falling 14-0 in five innings to the Clear Lake Cardinals at Lakeport, the Lions limped out of Lower Lake where the Trojans (6-2) sent 15 batters to the plate and scored 12 times before El Molino recorded the first out in the bottom of the first.
“Our first 12 batters scored,” Lower Lake coach Chris Emberson said.
The Trojans, now 6-2 on the season, hit the ball up and down the lineup. Ashlynn Mock (2-for-2), Alex DeGraw (1-for-2), Destiny Apodaca (2-for-3), Lizzy Marler (1-for-2) and winning pitcher Shelbie Harris (1-for-2) all smacked run-scoring doubles in the first. DeGraw and Apodaca finished the game with three RBIs apiece. Mock also scored three times.
Harris and reliever Mock combined on a three-hitter. Harris blanked the Lions on two hits through three innings, striking out five and walking none.
“She’s dialing it back in,” Emberson said of Harris, his ace. “I’m happy with her control. She’s got everything going but the changeup, which we’re still working on.”
Mock pitched the final two innings, allowing one hit, one unearned run, striking out one and walking two.
“I want to give her some work when I can,” Emberson said of Mock, a junior, and the heir apparent to the senior Harris.
Lower Lake added a pair of insurance runs in the third and got another in the fourth to open up a 15-0 lead. El Molino scored on a passed ball in the top of the fifth to break up the shutout.
“I’m happy with the team and excited about our bats,” Emberson said. “We keep swinging the bats well and this is the first team I’ve had that’s made adjustments for low velocity pitchers after facing faster pitchers. Our bats make us better than we’ve been the last couple of years.”
El Molino (0-8) is 0-3 against Lake County teams and 0-4 against North Central League I opponents this season. The Lions also lost to Middletown 10-3 and Willits 5-2.
Lower Lake opens its NCL I schedule on the road Tuesday in Fort Bragg before returning home Thursday to play St. Helena. Both games start at 4 p.m.
