FORT BRAGG — Held hitless for six innings, the Clear Lake Cardinals tried to rally in the seventh but ended up falling 4-1 to the Fort Bragg Timberwolves in North Central League I varsity baseball action Tuesday afternoon in Fort Bragg.
While most of the North Coast was experiencing some nasty weather Tuesday, including rain and hail that postponed a handful of games, that wasn’t the case on the Mendocino County coast, according to Clear Lake head coach Ed Pepper.
“It was beautiful,” Pepper said of the weather conditions.
Fort Bragg broke up a scoreless pitcher’s duel with a run in the bottom of the fifth inning.
“There was really, really good defense on both sides,” Pepper said.
Ethan Maize started for the Cardinals but left after three scoreless innings.
“He hit four batters and was having a hard time finding the strike zone,” Pepper said. “He was doing good, he was just struggling (with his control),” Pepper added.
Hank Ollenberger relieved to start the fourth and ended up taking the loss.
Fort Bragg finally broke through with a RBI double to the right-center field gap in the fifth, the runner scoring all the way from first base.
The Timberwolves (8-4) added three more runs in the sixth.
Singles by Maize and Cody Hayes opened the Clear Lake seventh. Two outs later Ralphy Blancas singled in the Cardinals’ lone run. That brought the potential tying runner to the plate, but the game ended with a strikeout.
“Our bats weren’t that good,” Pepper said. “We had trouble figuring out the strike zone, but ultimately the responsibility falls into our hands. It was a tough loss, but overall not a bad game.”
Clear Lake finishes league play 5-9 and the regular season 8-12. The Cardinals will apply for an at-large berth in the upcoming North Coast Section Division 5 playoffs. They’ll learn Sunday if they’ve made it and who and where they’re playing in the first round either next Tuesday or Wednesday.
In other baseball action Tuesday:
Upper Lake 10, Tomales 3
At Tomales, Luke Summerfield went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs as the Upper Lake Cougars snapped a three-game NCL II losing streak by beating the Tomales Braves.
Elijah Alvarez also went 2-for-4 for the Cougars (5-4, 8-6).
Upper Lake scored in every inning but the fifth while building a 7-0 lead. The Cougars stole 14 bases.
Winning pitcher Will Henry shut out Tomales on no hits through the first four innings, striking out nine and walking six. Brody Petrie and Bradley Sneathen followed him to the mound. Henry also went 1-for-3 with a RBI.
The Cougars are home Wednesday to play Credo in their league and regular-season finale.
