LAKEPORT — After scoring only one run and being swept by Arcata on Saturday in a non-league doubleheader, the Kelseyville Knights rang up 11 runs in the first two innings of a 13-3 six-inning victory over the Clear Lake Cardinals on Tuesday afternoon in Lakeport.
Kelseyville improved to 2-0 in the North Central League I varsity baseball standings and 4-7 overall with a win against its archrival. Ten of the Knights’ 12 hits came during a five-run first inning and a six-run second inning as they bolted out to an 11-1 lead.
“Their starter (Maddox Albaum) was struggling to throw strikes but when he did get the ball over the play we capitalized on it,” Kelseyville head coach Billy Shaul said.
Albaum allowed 10 runs in one-plus innings on the mound before Hank Ollenberger relieved him in the top of the second. Ollenberger went the rest of the way.
“Maddox struggled and we didn’t help him with a bunch of errors in the field,” Clear Lake head coach Ed Pepper said.
However, Kelseyville’s bats did most of the damage, according to Pepper.
“Kelseyville came to play, they put the bat on the ball,” he added.
The Knights not only got hits from players up and down their lineup, but two starting freshmen — Max Hommer and Tyler Bryant — each had three hits and a RBI on the day. Hommer also doubled.
“When there’s no JV game we bring him (Hommer) up to play third base,” Shaul said.
Bryant is the Knights’ starting center fielder.
Andrew Huggins (2-for-4 drove in three runs for Kelseyville while Colin Jensen (2-for-4), Luke Watkins (1-for-3, double) and Joey Gentle (1-for-3) each had two RBIs.
Winning pitcher Jon Dougherty went the distance, striking out six and walking one.
Ollenberger had two of Clear Lake’s eight hits and Albaum went 1-for-4 with a RBI.
“It was a tough outing and we just fell apart in the first two innings,” Pepper said. “I have only three seniors and one junior, the rest are sophomores and freshmen. We know how to play the game and we want to play the game, but there’s just so much inexperience out there that we haven’t been able to get over that hump yet.”
Both teams are on the road Friday. Kelseyville visits Willits while Clear Lake plays at Middletown.
In other league action Tuesday:
Middletown 4, Cloverdale 3
At Cloverdale, Luke Hoogendoorn worked into the seventh inning to notch the victory as the Middletown Mustangs improved to 2-0 in the NCL I standings and 3-6 overall with a victory over the Cloverdale Eagles.
Hoogendoorn allowed five hits and two runs (one earned) in 6 1/3 innings. Bryan Riehl recorded the final two outs for the save, including a flyball off the bat of Cloverdale’s cleanup hitter to end the game with the potential tying and winning runs on base.
The Eagles (0-2) trailed 4-1 going to the bottom of the seventh.
“Nothing was free, we had to make plays behind him,” Middletown head coach Tyler Holt said of Hoogendoorn, who struck out two. “They put the ball into play and we made most of the plays.”
Center fielder Zach Dubois turned in a web gem in the bottom of the fifth when he made an over-the-shoulder catch with Cloverdale runners at the corners and two outs.
“I don’t know how he caught it,” Holt said. “He looked up at the last second and snagged it.”
The play saved one run and quite possibly two as the runner at first had pretty good speed, according to Holt.
Middletown scored in the second and third innings to go up 2-0. Cloverdale got a run back in the bottom of the third but didn’t score again until the seventh. The Mustangs went up 4-1 with two runs in the sixth.
Noah Williams doubled home a run, one of six Middletown hits on the day. Cole Ketchum went 2-for-3 with a RBI and Dubois also had a hit.
Middletown hosts Clear Lake (0-2, 3-5) on Friday at 4 p.m. at Wes Martin Field.
St. Helena 9, Lower Lake 4
At Lower Lake, winning pitcher Spencer Printz allowed three hits over 6 1/3 innings as the St. Helena Saints (1-0, 4-6) opened their league schedule with a win over the Lower Lake Trojans (0-1, 1-3).
Printz struck out 10 and walked five. He was relieved in the bottom of the seventh when Lower Lake scored its final three runs.
Brent Isdahl homered and drove in three runs for St. Helena while Thomas Herdell went 3-for-4 with two RBIs.
St. Helena broke open a scoreless game with three runs in the top of the third. The Saints increased their lead to 7-0 in the fourth before Lower Lake broke through with a run in the bottom of the inning. St. Helena added single runs in the sixth and seventh to go up 9-1.
Lower Lake statistics were not reported. The Trojans hit the road Friday to play Fort Bragg at 4 p.m.
