FORT BRAGG >> Shelby Sapeta wasn’t feeling well and the cold and wind on the Mendocino County coast Friday afternoon didn’t help matters, but Lower Lake High School’s freshman pitcher didn’t let her condition or the elements stop her.
Sapeta tossed a no-hitter as the Trojans beat up on the Fort Bragg Timberwolves 13-1 in a North Central League I softball game called after five innings because of the 10-run rule.
“It was miserable,” Lower Lake head coach Chris Emberson said of the weather in Fort Bragg.
Fort Bragg scored a run in the bottom of the first, taking advantage of the only error committed by the Trojans (7-3 league, 13-6 overall). Lower Lake didn’t have a hit through two innings but the light switched flipped on in the top of the third inning.
“We started lighting it up like a Christmas tree,” Emberson said.
Lower Lake banged out five of its 12 hits during a six-run top of the third, including RBI singles by Destiny Apodaca and Katrina Rinoldi and a two-run triple by Kayla Sanderson to deep right field.
The Trojans kept on scoring in the fourth inning when they pushed five more runs across the plate for an 11-1 lead, two coming home on a triple into the right-center field gap off the bat of Jolean Scarborough (2-for-4, four RBIs). Lower Lake added two more runs in the fifth.
“All 12 of our hits came in the last three innings,” Emberson said.
Mikelynn Rowe led the way, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Marnae Johnson pushed her league batting average above .400 by going 2-for-2.
Other than the one error in the first inning, Lower Lake’s defense didn’t make a mistake. In fact, catcher Apodaca threw out one runner trying to steal second base and picked off another at first base.
Sapeta struck out two and walked six.
Lower Lake returns to action Tuesday in Lakeport against Clear Lake (5-6) at 4 p.m.
In other softball action Friday:
Kelseyville 11, Willits 3
At Willits, home runs by Paige Bour, Bib Hamner and Tymeka Green powered Kelseyville to a league win over the Willits Wolverines.
Kelseyville (9-1, 12-3) is now back in a tie with Cloverdale (9-1) for the NCL I lead. Both teams have four games remaining, including a May 16 showdown in Cloverdale.
The Knights bounced back from a 15-3 home loss to a last-place St. Helena team on Tuesday, a game they were without starting pitcher Allison Bryant (sore shoulder). Bryant was back in the lineup Friday and she went the distance, allowing five hits, striking out three and walking seven.
Kelseyville broke a 3-3 tie in the top of the fifth on a Riley Goff RBI single. Two batters later Bour blasted a home run to left-center field, the ball landing on top of a roof.
“She crushed it,” Kelseyville head coach Jeff Bour said of his daughter’s shot.
The Knights picked up another run in the sixth to go up 8-3 and they put the game away with a three-run seventh that began with a Hamner solo home run to right-center field and ended with Green’s two-run blast to right-center field.
Hamner’s home run landed on the infield of the adjacent baseball diamond where a game was going on between the Kelseyville and Willits varsity baseball teams.
“It was a very long home run,” Bour said.
Goff went 3-for-4 with two RBIs in the win and Bour, Green, Kailani Brown and Grace Davidson all finished with two hits apiece. Five of the Knights’ 13 hits went for extra bases.
Kelseyville hits the road again Tuesday to play Fort Bragg at 4 p.m.
Middletown 11, St. Helena 7
At St. Helena, the Middletown Mustangs built a 10-1 lead and then held on to beat the St. Helena Saints in NCL I action.
Middletown (2-8, 4-13) didn’t commit an error through the first four innings but the Mustangs struggled on defense after that and made seven errors over the final three innings.
The Mustangs banged out 17 hits in support of winning pitcher Olivia Glosser, who struck out six and walked only one. Aly Ferguson led the way, going 4-for-5, Jessica Zell went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, and Brittney Holt went 2-for-5 with two RBIs.
“She (Ferguson) had a great game all the way around,” Middletown coach Barry Glosser said.
Middletown struck for six runs in the top of the fourth inning to go up 8-1.
Devin Clark and Kendall Mildenberger had two hits apiece for the Mustangs, who return home Tueday to take on Willits at 4 p.m.
Calistoga 13, Upper Lake 10
At Upper Lake, Calistoga wasted a 7-3 lead, then rallied from a 10-8 deficit after five innings to beat the Upper Lake Cougars in NCL II action.
Upper Lake (2-3, 6-11) scored four times in the bottom of the fifth inning to grab a 10-8 lead but the Wildcats came right back with three runs in the top of the sixth to go up 11-10. They added two insurance runs in the seventh.
Upper Lake hurt itself with seven errors but Cougars coach Kelly Coburn said the game umpires had an even worse day.
“They missed a bunch of calls,” Coburn said.
Chelsie Valdez went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs to lead the Cougars at the plate. Colleen Doyle had a double and a RBI and Bailey Young went 1-for-4 with two RBIs.
Upper Lake has a bye on Tuesday and returns to action next Friday at home against Technology.
