LAKEPORT >> Jake Egger’s two-out, two-run triple in the bottom of the fourth inning proved to be the decisive blow as the Clear Lake Cardinals improved to 18-0 on the season with a 4-3 non-league varsity baseball victory over the St. Patrick/St. Vincent Bruins of Vallejo on Saturday afternoon in Lakeport.
Trailing 2-0 after the first inning, the Bruins (7-8) pulled even with a two-run top of the fourth only to lose that momentum to Clear Lake in the bottom half of the inning as Egger connected deep into the right-center field gap with Cardinal runners at the corners.
Winning pitcher Jordan Chana, 7-0, allowed his final run in the top of the fifth when Tavion Henderson launched a solo home run to right-center field to make it 4-3. Chana ended up a with a complete-game five-hitter. He struck out six and walked three.
“He threw great, he threw awesome,” Clear Lake coach Zane Jensen said. “He had three pitches working.”
The Cardinals threatened in two other innings only to come away empty, including a runner at third base with no outs in the bottom of the third.
“We found a way to score runs, but we could have scored more,” Jensen said. “We didn’t have great hitting, but we had timely hitting.”
Dillon Williams went 2-for-3 for the Cardinals while Egger (1-for-3) was hit by another pitch.
“He’s a ball magnet,” Jensen said. “I’m not sure how many times he’s been hit this season, but I’m guessing around 15.”
Clear Lake has six North Central League I games remaining in its regular-season schedule, two of them against archrival Kelseyville, before the start of the North Coast Section Division V playoffs next month. The Cardinals, defending NCL I champions, host St. Helena today before hitting the road Friday to play Kelseyville. Both games start at 4 p.m.
