NAPA — The Kelseyville Knights dropped a 10-9 heartbreaker to the Justin-Siena Braves on Saturday, allowing five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning in the non-league varsity baseball contest at Napa.
“That was one of the better hitting teams we’ll see all year,” Kelseyville head coach Lou Poloni said of the Braves, whose center and right fields border Highway 29 in Napa. “They (Braves) were swinging it like crazy. I had outfielders playing on Highway 29,” Poloni joked.
Kelseyville had a 8-2 lead after four innings as starting pitcher Jeremy Brown was throwing strikes and holding the Braves in check for the most part. The Braves began their comeback with a three-run fifth against Brown, who came back to pitch a scoreless sixth before turning the game over to his bullpen.
The Knights (1-1) padded their lead with a run in the top of the seventh to go up 9-5, but Kelseyville’s bullpen couldn’t hold it. Tyler Linnell allowed three runs without retiring a batter and was replaced by freshman Zayne Barker, who induced a pair of bases-loaded grounders that led to force plays at the plate with the Knights clinging to a 9-8 lead.
Justin-Siena was down to its last strike when a two-run single to right field ended the game.
“We did a lot of stuff well, we did a good job of playing small ball well and we did a good job of putting pressure on their defense,” Poloni said. “We did a lot of stuff real well for a Feb. 29 game. It was good, just not good enough.”
Kelseyville’s offense generated nine hits, with both Barker (2-for-3) and Jake Keithly (2-for-4, double RBI) leading the way. Brandon Garcia went 1-for-5 with a two-run triple and two runs scored.
Brown allowed five hits and three earned runs in his six innings while receiving a no-decision. He struck out four and walked five.
Kelseyville grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning before Justin-Siena answered with two runs in the bottom half. The Knights jumped back in front with a two-run second and went up 8-2 with a five-run fourth.
The Knights are home Wednesday to host Healdsburg at 3 p.m. and they host El Molino on Saturday at 11 a.m.
