KELSEYVILLE >> There wasn’t a storm cloud in sight Tuesday afternoon as the Kelseyville Knights played the Clear Lake Cardinals in a North Central League I softball game, but the deep roll of thunder could be heard a couple of times at the Kelseyville High School field.
And you can thank Bib Hamner and Riley Goff for that. Both clubbed solo home runs as the Knights erased an early 2-0 deficit and went on to thump the defending league champions 10-4.
“And we’re still not hitting the ball the way we’re capable of,” Kelseyville coach Jeff Bour said after watching the Knights pound out 11 hits.
Kelseyville (2-0 league, 5-2 overall) has spotted each of its first two league opponents — Lower Lake and Clear Lake — 2-0 leads before coming back to win both games convincingly (they beat Lower Lake 7-2 on Friday).
“We let our defense keep us in the game and wait for our bats to come alive,” Bour said.
And they did, in the bottom of the third inning to be specific. Kelseyville batted around and scored six times to offset the two runs Clear Lake (1-1, 5-5) plated in the top of the second against winning pitcher Allison Bryant, who pitched a complete game, striking out six and walking one.
“She does an outstanding job,” Bour said of the freshman. “She hasn’t gotten the credit she deserves.”
Kailani Brown (2-for-4) opened the Kelseyville third with a single and had another hit before the inning ended. In between the Knights established a 6-2 lead and never looked back. One of the runs scored on a booming home run to right field off the bat of Hamner, Kelseyville’s clenaup hitter. She went 2-for-4 on the day.
“My hat’s off to them,” Clear Lake coach Doug Wingler said. “We had a lapse in that third inning and they put a six-spot on us. To get to that next level, we’ve got to minimize those types of innings.”
While the young Cardinals were only charged with two errors, numerous wild pitches and passed balls in the six-run third helped Kelseyville put a crooked number on the scoreboard.
“I think at one point we had three straight passed balls that let runs score,” Wingler said. “Other than that one inning I thought we competed with them.”
Wingler also praised the Cardinals for not giving up and scratching out two runs in the seventh to make the score a bit more respectful.
“We never stopped playing,” Wingler said.
After the six-run third inning, Kelseyville added two runs in the fourth and single runs in the fifth and sixth to go up 10-2. The final run scored on Goff’s shot to straightaway center field. She bats third for the Knights.
Bailey Couey and Tymeka Green added two hits apiece in the win.
“I’m very happy with where we’re at,” Bour said of the Knights’ 2-0 league start.
Far removed from the days when it simply hoped to compete in any given game, Kelseyville has set its sights much higher in 2017, according to Bour.
“Meaning no disrespect to the other teams in the league, but when we take the field we feel as if we’re the best team out there,” Bour said.
Kelseyville chased losing pitcher Kortnie Reynolds after 3 2/3 innings. Shaelyn McIntire closed out the game for the Cardinals.
Lilli Hill went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs for Clear Lake and Reynolds also had two hits.
Clear Lake returns home today to play Middletown at 4 p.m. Kelseyville is scheduled to play Friday in St. Helena, weather permitting as a storm is expected to hit the North Coast sometime on Thursday evening.
