WILLITS >> Brandon Coakley’s RBI single in the top of the fifth snapped a 4-4 tie and proved to be the game-winning hit as the Clear Lake Cardinals knocked off the Willits Wolverines 5-4 in North Central League I varsity baseball action on Tuesday afternoon at Willits.
Clear Lake’s young squad improved to 4-4 in league and 5-13 overall.
“This is a team that’s learning how to win,” Clear Lake coach Zane Jensen said. “Sometimes it’s pretty and sometimes it’s not.”
Clear Lake trailed 4-1 after Willits scored all of its runs in the bottom of the third against starting pitcher Isaac Lewis. The Cardinals pulled even with three runs in the top of the fourth and pushed ahead to stay in the fifth when Coakley connected with one out.
Isaac Maize, the second of three Clear Lake pitchers, picked up the win. Ryan Damiata earned the save with 2 2/3 innings of shutout relief. He also anchored the offense with three hits and a RBI. Coakley and Tyler Manning added two hits apiece.
In other action Tuesday:
Cloverdale 7, M’town 5
At Cloverdale, the host Eagles scored all of their runs in the first inning and then hold on to beat the Middletown Mustangs in NCL I action.
Middletown (3-5, 5-10) was trying to hand Cloverdale (7-0) its first league loss.
The Mustangs took a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the first but Middletown starting pitcher Travis Williams struggled from the outset, giving up a hit and walking three of the only four batters he faced. Middletown head coach Brad Holt went to his bullpen at that point for Stephen Amos, who pitched all six innings.
“It started off bad, went worse and we couldn’t recover from it,” Holt said. “We actually controlled the last six innings.”
Middletown banged out 11 hits to Cloverdale’s four while chipping away at the Eagles’ lead. The Mustangs got two runs in the third and single runs in the sixth and seventh.
“We hit the crap out of the ball,” Holt said.
Chris Davis went 3-for-4 with a triple and Ty Chorjel went 2-for-3 with a RBI. Trevor LaFave also had two hits.
Middletown hosts Lower Lake (0-8) on Friday at 4 p.m.
Softball
Lower Lake 6, K’ville 5
At Lower Lake, Ashlynn Mock’s RBI single with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning lifted the Lower Lake Trojans to a come-from-behind win over the Kelseyville Knights.
Lower Lake (5-1, 11-4) has rallied to win each of its last two league games, both at home, in the bottom of the seventh.
Azuree Meza was hit by a pitch leading off the Lower Lake seventh. Destiny Apodaca reached on an error, Kelseyville’s only error of the game, and Kristen Celli advanced the runners with a groundout. Mock followed with a single into left-center field that barely eluded the Kelseyville shortstop.
“Kelseyville played well,” Lower Lake coach Chris Emberson said of the Knights (3-4, 6-4). “Jeff (Bour) has them moving in the right direction. He’s doing a good job.”
“It’s like night and day from where we were playing at the start of the year,” Bour said of the improvement made by the Knights since dropping a 9-1 decision at home to Lower Lake on April 1. “I’m really proud of the girls.”
Trailing 2-0 after two innings, Kelseyville pushed ahead with a four-run top of the third, the big hit of the inning being losing pitcher Morgan Profitt’s two-run double.
Kelseyville had a 5-3 lead before Lower Lake (5-1, 11-4) tied it with two runs in the bottom of the fifth.
Both schools had scoring opportunities negated by the other team’s play in the field. The defensive play of the game for Lower Lake occurred in the top of the fifth. Kelseyville had already scored a run to go up 5-3 and had runners at the corners with two outs when Lower Lake shortstop Jolean Scarborough made a diving catch of a grounder earmarked for center field and tagged the bag at second to end the inning. Scarborough also went 2-for-4 at the plate. Mock, the winning pitcher, went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
Bib Hamner and Bailey Couey had two hits apiece for Kelseyville while Profitt finished 1-for-4 with three RBIs.
Cloverdale 7, M’town 0
At Cloverdale, Teanne Edens struck out 11 and allowed only two hits as the Cloverdale Eagles blanked the Middletown Mustangs.
Brittney Holt singled in the fourth inning for Middletown (1-6, 6-8) and Hannah Flynn singled in the fifth. The Mustangs advanced only one runner as far as second base against Cloverdale’s ace.
The Eagles (6-1) scored the only run Edens would need in the bottom of the first against losing pitcher Olivia Glosser. Cloverdale broke the game open with a five-run fourth, collecting four hits in the inning and taking advantage of four Middletown errors.
“We played a good game, but we always have one of those innings,” Middletown coach Barry Glosser said. “It always seems to happen.”
Middletown hosts Lower Lake on Friday at 4 p.m.
Clear Lake at Willits, postponed
At Willits, the Clear Lake Cardinals were on their way to Willits to play the Wolverines when they received word that Willits didn’t have enough players to field a team. Clear Lake coach Doug Wingler said he didn’t know if they game would be rescheduled or forfeited to the Cardinals.
“I’ll led the ADs figure that out,” Wingler said.
Clear Lake, the NCL I leader, is 5-0 in league and 10-4 overall. The Cardinals hit the road today to play Kelseyville at 4 p.m.
JV baseball
Lower Lake 12, Kelseyville 6
At Kelseyville, Mike Taliaferro pitched five innings in relief of starter Jack Mitcham to register the victory and the Lower Lake Trojans beat the Kelseyville Knights in NCL I action, their fifth league win in seven tries.
Now 9-3 overall, the Trojans built a 9-2 lead after three innings.
Guy Boyd went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs for Lower Lake, Gage Thayer went 2-for-4 with a RbI, and Izzac Carver went 2-for-4.
Tennis
Cloverdale 5, Kelseyville 0
At Cloverdale, the Kelseyville Knights closed out the Coastal Mountain Conference tennis regular season with a loss at Cloverdale on Monday afternoon.
In singles action, Josh Bridges fell 6-4, 6-4 to Luke Pope in first singles, Savannah Molley lost 6-1, 6-1 to Everett Conway in second singles, and Emma Farrell dropped a 6-2, 6-4 decision to Paige Wasniak in third singles.
In doubles action, Alex Sanchez and Garrett Grossner fell 7-5, 6-2 in first doubles. In second doubles, Cloverdale’s Mikaela Crosby and Javier Hernandez beat Kristen Amendola and Summer Brown 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.
In exhibition doubles play, Kelseyville’s Laurel Weller and Diamond Maglietta won 6-4 while Emma and Hailey Miller lost 7-5.
Kelseyville will participate in the CMC Championshps on Friday at Mendocino College in Ukiah.
