PETALUMA — St. Vincent erupted for 15 runs in the bottom of the fourth inning while beating the Lower Lake Trojans 22-1 in a non-league varsity baseball game called in the fifth inning in Petaluma.
While the game started under partly cloudy skies, heavy rain was falling in the fifth inning, at which point the game was called. It was the first loss of the season for the Trojans (3-1) and new coach Mark Peterson.
“It was a good reality punch for us,” Peterson said. “We fought, but we were going from a natural field to a turf field with a turf mound that we weren’t used to.”
Dylan Sherman’s RBI single in the top of the fourth, one of only two Lower Lake hits in the game, cut St. Vincent’s lead to 7-1. The Mustangs (4-4) then unloaded on the Trojans in the bottom half.
Jett Guralas had the only other Lower Lake hit.
Jordan O’Keefe, the first of five Lower Lake pitchers, started the game and took the loss. He went 2 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs (four earned) on four hits with three strikeouts and three walks.
Lower Lake opens its North Central League I schedule Saturday at home against Clear Lake. The Trojans will honor former Clear Lake head coach Ed Pepper during a pregame ceremony scheduled to start at 3:45 p.m. Pepper collapsed on the field late last week in Fort Bragg where the Cardinals were preparing to play a first-round game in the Fort Bragg Tournament and later died at an area hospital. First pitch is 4 p.m.
