CALISTOGA >> Shelbie Harris quickly recovered from a slow start to not only lead the Lower Lake High School softball team to a two-game sweep of Justin-Siena and Calistoga on Saturday at the Calistoga Tournament, but to also win the most valuable player award.
Harris had plenty of help from teammate Ashlynn Mock, who went 6-for-8 with a double and seven RBIs on the day. Mock was named to the All-Tournament team.
Lower Lake spotted Justin-Siena of Napa a 3-0 first-inning lead before roaring back to win 11-4 in five innings. The game was cut short by a tournament time limit. The Trojans returned later that afternoon to beat Calistoga 11-4 in the championship game.
“We’re not a morning team,” Lower Lake coach Chris Emberson said. “The first two innings (against Justin-Siena) were frustrating for all of us. We came out flat and didn’t play well. After that, we played pretty well the rest of the day.”
Harris allowed all four runs to Justin-Siena in the first two innings and the Trojans trailed 4-1 entering the third. Lower Lake closed to 4-3 in the third before going off for seven runs in the top of the fourth, including consecutive run-scoring hits by Harris (RBI double), Mock (RBI single), Azuree Meza (RBI single and Alex DeGraw (RBI double). The Trojans added a fifth run when Destiny Apodoca was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, then Kristen Celli capped the scoring with a two-run double.
Mock finished with three hits and two RBIs while Celli went 2-for-3.
Harris struck out eight and walked two.
In the championship game against Calistoga, Emberson mixed up his lineup, starting four reserves. After falling behind 1-0 after one inning, it was all Lower Lake. The Trojans pulled even with a run in the top of the second before moving in front with four runs in the third. They added two more runs in the fourth and four in the fifth.
Harris worked the first three innings for the victory while Mock finished up. Mock again went 3-for-4 and the No. 3 hitter in Lower Lake’s batting order also knocked in five runs with a two-run double in the third, a RBI single in the fourth and a two-run single in the fifth.
“She is really coming along with her hitting,” Emberson said. “She’s put in a lot of extra swings and it’s beginning to show. I’m proud of her.”
Destiny Apodaca finished 3-for-3 with a RBI while Meza, Emma Diener and Cheyanne Apodaca added two hits apiece.
The Trojans (9-2) can now concentrate on the task ahead, which is the remainder of their North Central League I schedule. One game in with 13 games left, Lower Lake is hoping to duke it out with the big boys, Cloverdale (2-0) and Clear Lake (1-1), for this year’s title. The Trojans (1-0) take this week off for spring break before returning to league action a week from today at home against Willits (0-2) at 4 p.m.
Kelseyville
While Lower Lake was winning both of its outings on Saturday, the Kelseyville Knights (2-7) dropped a pair, falling to tournament host Calistoga 8-7 in the first round and to Justin-Siena 16-0 in the third-place game.
Kelseyville carried a 7-6 lead into the bottom of the sixth against against Calistoga. The Wildcats tied it with a run in the inning and then won it with a run in the seventh. Because of tournament time constraints, the final two innings were played under international tiebreaking rules (teams start an inning with a runner at second and no outs).
Losing pitcher Morgan Profitt went 4-for-4 with two RBIs and Riley Goff and Brendelyn Pelzel each had two hits. Profitt struck out and walked eight.
In their afternoon game with Justin-Siena, the Knights trailed 13-0 after two innings. Taylor Paulich made her first start for the Knights because Profitt had a sore arm. Goff and Profitt relieved to close out the five-inning contest.
Kelseyville finished with just five hits.
Although it’s spring break this week the Knights play two league games. They visit Fort Bragg today and are home against Middletown on Friday. First pitch is 4 p.m. both days.
