KELSEYVILLE — Shut out by McKinleyville pitching over the final seven innings, the Kelseyville Knights dropped a 6-3 decision in nine innings to the Panthers in non-league varsity baseball action on a cold Friday afternoon at Lloyd Larson Field.
Kelseyville (2-2) led 3-0 after two innings but couldn’t score again against the Panthers (2-0). The Knights put runners in scoring position in the fifth, seventh and eighth innings only to come away empty each time. They nearly won the game in the bottom of the seventh when a blast off the bat of Adrian Villalobos appeared ticketed for Park Street but instead died in front of the left-field fence where it was caught for a long out.
“We were one flair, one bleeder, one grounder with eyes, one error away from winning the thing,” Kelseyville coach Lou Poloni said. “We were aggressive at the plate and our pitchers pounded the strike zone. It was a good game.”
Villalobos’ near walk-off home run came against McKinleyville ace Cameron Saso, who was working in relief and ended up notching the victory. The long game ended with precious little daylight left, according to Poloni.
“We did a few of the little things wrong that ended up costing us the game, but I’m pleased with the effort,” Poloni said.
Kelseyville starting pitcher Jeremy Brown, who is only a sophomore, worked the first eight innings only to come away with a no-decision.
“He was amazing,” Poloni said of the right-hander, who wasn’t even on the varsity roster when the Knights held their first practice last month. “He has unbelievable composure.”
Brown struck out five and walked three while allowing five hits and McKinleyville’s first three runs, all of them earned.
Kelseyville grabbed a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first on back-to-back, two-out RBI singles by Steven Sprague and Chase Larsen. The Knights made it 3-0 in the second inning on a Cooper Goff sacrifice fly.
McKinleyville closed to 3-1 in the top of the third and tied the score with two runs in the fourth. The score didn’t change until the top of the ninth when the Panthers scratched out three runs against reliever Villalobos, who took the loss.
Larsen and Goff each went 2-for-4 for the Knights. Villalobos doubled for the team’s only extra-base hit.
Both of McKinleyville’s wins this season have come against Lake County teams – the Panthers shut out Middletown 3-0 on Monday at McKinleyville – and they’ll have the opportunity to add to their win total against Lake County opponents on Saturday during a split doubleheader at Lloyd Larson Field. The Knights and Panthers meet again at 9 a.m., weather permitting, and McKinleyville returns to the field at noon to take on Clear Lake.
