WILLITS >> After a slow start, the Lower Lake Trojans scored six times in the top of the third inning and cruised to a 13-3 victory over the Willits Wolverines and a share of the North Central League I junior varsity baseball championship on Wednesday afternoon in Willits.
The winless Wolverines held a 1-0 lead after two innings.
“We started off very slowly and couldn’t do anything,” Lower Lake coach Jim Peters said. “But we got it going in that third inning.”
Freshman star Hokulani Wickard, who pitched a complete game in a 1-0 victory over league co-champion Clear Lake on Monday in Lakeport, went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs to spark the Trojans’ offense. Marlon Jones also came through in a big way, going 2-for-5 with three RBIs. Jordan McGrath, Ethan Watson and Eric Graves all added a hit and a RBI to the cause.
The Trojans (10-4 league, 14-7 overall) started strong in league play and had a commanding league in the standings at one point but struggled down the stretch, dropping consecutive games to Kelseyville and Middletown. With their season on the line, they answered with back-to-back road wins this week against Clear Lake and Willits.
“The boys let up a little bit and they knew they had to come back and win both of those games,” Peters said. “They did it.”
Pitching and defense carried Lower Lake most of the season, according to Peters.
“Our defense has been stellar,” he said. “This group of boys can play defense with anyone. As long as they can hit the ball they will have no problem competing with the rest of the league.”
A sophomore-dominated group, Peters expects many of his players to help the varsity program the next couple of years. And you can add the freshman Wickard to that list.
“He’ll be at the varsity next year,” Peters said.
“They did great, it’s a very good group of coach,” Peters said. “It’s a sophomore group with no attitude.”
