MIDDLETOWN >> Noah Lyndall needed just 55 pitches to beat the Fort Bragg Timberwolves on Friday afternoon and keep the Kelseyville Knights undefeated in the North Central League I varsity baseball standings.
Lyndall stopped Fort Bragg on just two hits and received all kinds of support from his offense as Kelseyville beat the Timberwolves 11-1 in a game called after five innings because of the 10-run mercy rule.
“Third straight really solid outing for him,” Kelseyville coach Lou Poloni said of his senior right-hander. “He’s getting locked in. He had his A game working.”
Two things greatly contributed to Lyndall’s low pitch count and one of them was the number of walks he issued — only one. The other was the length of the game, which his teammates made sure was only five innings long by banging out nine hits, four of them for extra bases including Logan Barrick’s three-run home run to left-center field in the top of the fifth inning. The blast gave Kelseyville a 10-run lead.
“He just jumped it,” Poloni said of the pitch that Barrick sent flying over the fence just to the left of the 350-foot sign. “It was hit … it was hit.”
Kyle Ellis led the Knights with three hits, one of them a triple, Lyndall went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and Zack Villalobos went 2-for-3 with a double and a RBI.
Kelseyville (5-0 league, 9-2 overall) scored its first five runs in the top of the second. Fort Bragg (3-2) pushed across an unearned run in the bottom of the inning. The Knights added three more runs in the fourth and another three in the fifth on Barrick’s home run.
Lyndall struck out four.
The Knights enter today’s home game against Middletown (3-2, 5-7) tied with Cloverdale (5-0, 8-4) for the league lead. Kelseyville visits Cloverdale on Friday.
In other action Friday:
Softball
Middletown 10, Willits 6
At Middletown, Mallory Wisely went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Hannah Flynn smacked a solo home run to support the pitching of Savannah McLaughlin as the Middletown Mustangs notched their first NCL I win at the expense of the Willits Wolverines.
McLaughlin is filling in for Olivia Glosser, who missed both the St. Helena (last Tuesday) and Willits games while recovering from oral surgery to remove her wisdom teeth. Glosser’s status is iffy for today’s game at Kelseyville as well, according to her dad and coach Barry Glosser.
“She (McLaughlin) was throwing strikes and we made some nice plays behind her,” Glosser said. “(Brittney) Holt made six or seven running catches in left field. She really had a good game.”
McLaughlin scattered eight hits, struck out three and walked two.
Middletown (1-4, 6-6) built a 7-0 lead through four innings. Willits (1-4) got as close as 9-6 with three-run fifth and sixth innings.
Abi Murphy went 2-for-2 for Middletown.
Flynn’s home run in the bottom of the fifth was a blast to left-center field.
“It was a shot,” Glosser said.
Middletown travels to Kelseyville (2-3, 5-3) today at 4 p.m.
Fort Bragg 10, Kelseyville 5
At Fort Bragg, the host Fort Bragg Timberwolves snapped a 4-all tie with a five-run fourth inning while ending Kelseyville’s two-game league winning streak.
Kelseyville (2-3 league, 5-3 overall) scored four times in the top of the third to wipe out a 4-0 Fort Bragg lead. Cleanup hitter Bib Hamner’s delivered a bases-loaded triple in the inning and ended up driving in four of the Knights’ runs. She finished the game 2-for-4.
Brendelyn Pelzel and Kailani Brown each had two hits for the Knights, who scored their final run in the seventh and had the bases loaded with only one out before the rally ended on back-to-back strikeouts.
Losing pitcher Morgan Profitt went the distance, allowing six earned runs, striking out two and walking four.
Brown and Tymeka Green turned in some solid glove work in the field, according to Kelseyville coach Jeff Bour.
The Knights host Middletown (1-4, 6-6) today at 4 p.m.
Tennis
Clear Lake 4, Kelseyville 1
At Lakeport, Clear Lake’s tennis team has two wins this season and they’re both against the Kelseyville Knights, who fell 4-1 to the Cardinals in their final meeting of the year.
Kelseyville’s lone win came in first singles where Josh Bridges outlasted Liam Stahl 7-5, 5-7, 6-1.
Clear Lake winners were Ethan Jones, 6-1, 6-0 over Emma Farrell in second singles; Subhagya Joshi, 6-4, 6-4 over Savannah Molley in third singles; Sereno Domingues and Scotty Mather, 6-2, 6-1 over Kristen Amendola and Summer Brown in first doubles; and Lexi Burke and Bobby Lasher, 6-1, 6-4 over Milly Cacho and Daimond Maglietta in second doubles.
There were two exhibition doubles matches as well and both went to Clear Lake. Stacey Partridge and Helen Rodriguez beat Emma and Hailey Miller 6-3, 6-1, and Will Green and Dylan Bennett defeated Laurel Weller and Kara Vartebedian 6-2, 6-0.
Clear Lake plays at Cloverdale today while Kelseyville faces Middletown at Hidden Valley Lake.
JV baseball
Lower Lake 7, Clear Lake 5
At Lower Lake, Jack Mitcham pitched five innings for the win and Izzac Carver had two of Lower Lake’s seven hits as the Trojans beat the Clear Lake Cardinals in JV baseball league action.
Mitcham, Austin Oranje and Guy Boyd all drove in runs for the Trojans.
Chris White, Kyle Ashworth and Jason Garrison had two hits apiece for Clear Lake (1-4, 3-5) and Tyler Tucker went 1-for-2 with two RBIs.
Both teams are on the road today for league games. Clear Lake visits Fort Bragg while Lower Lake travels to St. Helena.
