LOWER LAKE >> Winning pitcher Shelbie Harris and Kristen Celli homered to straightaway center field and the Lower Lake Trojans beat the Middletown Mustangs 8-1 in North Central League I softball action on Tuesday in Lower Lake.
Celli’s blast, a tape-measure shot, snapped a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the second inning and put Lower Lake (3-0 league, 11-2 overall) ahead to stay.
“It was a bomb and it really set the tone for us today,” Lower Lake coach Chris Emberson said.
Harris, who threw a two-hitter and struck out 14 with only one walk, added a two-run home run in the fourth inning to boost the Trojans’ lead to 7-1. Harris finished 2-for-4 with a double, homer and three RBIs. Celli, who connected on a 3-2 pitch while leading off the bottom of the second, went 2-for-3.
Middletown (2-3, 7-6) briefly tied the game at 1 on a Renee Edwards double and Gracie Armstrong’s two-out RBI single in the top of the second, the only two hits Harris would allow.
Losing pitcher Edwards struck out 10 and walked one.
“We put the ball in play and and we put a lot of pressure on their defense,” Emberson said. “And we hits some balls hard.”
“Our bats were just not there,” Middletown coach Barry Glosser said. “We’re having issues right now getting key hits … or any hits at all. It’s something we need to fix.”
Lower Lake and Cloverdale (4-0) are the only two undefeated teams remaining in the NCL I. The two teams meet twice later this season.
Lower Lake hosts Fort Bragg on Friday while Middletown is home against Willits. Both games start at 4 p.m.
