KELSEYVILLE >> It was senior ace Logan Barrick’s turn in the rotation on Thursday as the Kelseyville Knights hosted the Healdsburg Greyhounds in a non-league varsity baseball game at Lloyd Larson Field in Kelseyville, and that could only mean one thing.
The Knights won 2-0 on a four-hitter, the six-inning winning effort everything you would expect from a tried-and-true veteran such as Barrick. There was just one problem. Barrick didn’t start the game although he did end it with one inning of perfect relief to notch the save. Nope, on this day it was a sophomore by the name of Jacob Beck who did the dealing, and deal he did against the Greyhounds (4-5).
“The game plan was to score a bunch of runs so we didn’t have to stay with one guy too long,” said Kelseyville coach Lou Poloni with an eye toward a home doubleheader the Knights have Saturday against Arcata. “I wanted to save some pitching.”
And the Knights might have saved some pitching after all thanks to Beck, who also went 2-for-2 at the plate with a double.
“We didn’t know how long Jacob would go,” Poloni said of Beck’s first varsity start. “Jacob was brilliant. He had good velocity and a buckling slider.”
Pitching to freshman catcher Cooper Goff, who caught all seven innings, Beck struck out seven and walked four in his six innings on the mound. He worked out of jams in the first and third innings, striking out Healdsburg’s cleanup hitter with the bases loaded to end the top of the third.
“He really battled. God he looked good and had composure out there,” Poloni said.
Beck’s 85-pitch effort served as something of an epiphany for Kelseyville’s veteran coach.
“We’re starting to realize that we have a lot of good pitching and a lot of young pitching,” Poloni said. “We have a lot of good, young players.”
While Barrick didn’t start the game for the Knights (6-1-1), he certainly figured in the outcome outside of pitching a scoreless top of the seventh. He went 3-for-3 with a double and triple and scored both of Kelseyville’s runs. Jonah Lewis (1-for-3) knocked in those runs with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the first following a two-out Barrick double, and with a run-scoring grounder in the fourth following a one-out Barrick triple to deep center field.
The Knights are 2-0 against Healdsburg this season, having also beaten the Greyhounds 6-0 in a Barrick start on March 8 at Healdsburg.
Looking ahead to the doubleheader with Arcata on Saturday, Poloni said he’s not sure how he’ll juggle his rotation but he’ll have everyone with the exception of Beck available.
“I have a lot more depth than I thought I had,” Poloni said. “We don’t have to go to long with anyone.”
First pitch in game one on Saturday is noon.
Team notes: Beck celebrates his 16th birthday on Saturday, according to Poloni, who said he can’t remember the last time he had a freshman catcher (Goff) go all seven innings behind the plate. “I couldn’t tell you,” Poloni said, “but Cooper did a great job back there.” Thursday was notable for Goff for another reason as he received his driver’s permit … Barrick threw 14 pitches during his one-inning stint and struck out two … Healdsburg had a chance to get the early jump on Kelseyville with a runner at third base and one out in the top of the first, but Beck escaped unscathed. He also stranded a runner at second in the sixth … Adrian Villalobos had the Knights’ other hit against Healdsburg.
