KELSEYVILLE >> On the day before his 32nd birthday, Lower Lake High School softball head coach Chris Emberson got an early present in the form of a North Central League I-opening victory over the Kelseyville Knights.
A two-run home run by Alex DeGraw that ignited a six-run Lower Lake fourth inning and Kristen Celli’s solo shot in the seventh put the exclamation points on the Trojans’ 9-1 victory over a previously undefeated Kelseyville Knights club on Friday afternoon in Kelseyville.
“That’s typical of what we’ve been doing this season,” Emberson said of Lower Lake’s six-run fourth. “We usually peck away and then have a big inning. It’s nice, I can’t complain about it.
Emberson also wasn’t complaining about the season-high nine strikeouts he received from winning pitcher Ashlynn Mock, who is more about control than velocity on most days. Against the Knights, she scattered six hits and walked none. Five of her nine strikeouts came on called strikes, a handful the result of a deadly slow changeup that Kelseyville hitters simply couldn’t pull the trigger on.
“Hands down the most effective one I’ve seen,” Kelseyville coach Jeff Bour said of the slow change. “That’s a really nice pitch.”
“Ashlynn keeps us in games, moves the ball around and makes them hit it,” Emberson said. “She keeps the defense in games. She threw well today and while strikeouts aren’t usually her thing, she has the potential to do that against teams if she hits her spots.”
In a game that was relatively error and walk free, the Trojans’ six-run fourth obviously stood out as the big inning.
Like Mock, Kelseyville pitcher Morgan Profitt is all about control and teams are going to put the ball into play against her most days.
“Morgan threw the ball over the plate and did her job,” Bour said. “I know it was a little frustrating for her in that inning, but they (Trojans) hit the ball real good.”
Lower Lake had a 2-0 lead heading into the fourth, the result of a pair of clutch two-out hits, the first a RBI double by Mock and then a RBI single by Azuree Meza in the top of the third. Destiny Apodaca led of the fourth with a crisp single , moved to second on a passed ball and to third on Mikelynn Rowe’s groundout to first base. DeGraw worked ahead in the count 2-0 before unloading to straightaway center field, a two-run shot that made it a 4-0 game.
After singles by Abebreanna Gonzales and Katrina Rinoldi and a wild pitch that allowed Gonzales to advance to third, Jolean Scarborough doubled to deep right-center field to clear the bases and increase Lower Lake’s lead to 6-0. Scarborough tagged up and went to third on a Mock fly ball to center field and Meza drew a walk to put runners at the corners for Celli, who launched a double that not only hit the temporary fence in left field but skipped under it for a ground-rule RBI double. Meza moved up to third and scored on a wild pitch moments later to make it 8-0.
Mock blanked Kelseyville until the bottom of the fifth when Taylor Paulich led off with a single, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on a solid single to center by Brendelyn Pelzel, the Knights’ leadoff hitter who had two of Kelseyville’s six hits against Mock, who went on to strike out the side.
Celli’s leadoff home run in the seventh was a no-doubter, dropping well behind the fence in left field.
“One of the longest home runs I’ve seen here,” Bour said.
Celli, the only Lower Lake batter with more than one hit, finished 3-for-4. Five of the Trojans’ hits were for extra bases.
“Celli is a dangerous batter and she might be the most complete hitter I’ve had since I’ve been coaching her,” Emberson said. “She’s a big bat and at any time is capable of hitting one out.”
Lower Lake (1-0 league, 7-3 overall) hosts Middletown on Tuesday while Kelseyville (0-1, 3-1) hits the road to play Clear Lake.
