LOWER LAKE — Brock Barrick pitched five solid innings for the victory, allowing just three hits and one unearned run, and the Kelseyville Knights clinched the outright North Central League I varsity baseball championship with a 10-1 victory over the Lower Lake Trojans on Tuesday afternoon in Lower Lake.
Kelseyville (13-0) can complete a perfect NCL I season with a win Friday against St. Helena at 3 p.m., the league and regular-season finale for both teams. While the outcome of the game won’t change the Knights’ position atop the league standings, you better believe it has meaning for the Kelseyville players.
“If we lose it could hurt us in the (playoff) rankings,” Kelseyville head coach Billy Shaul said with an eye toward Saturday’s at-large and seeding meeting for the North Coast Section Division IV playoffs, which begin early next week. “We’ve been the fourth seed in the (recent) rankings and a loss could drop us. We need to win out to get that fourth spot.”
And besides, said Shaul, the Knights really want that perfect record in league play, and they’ll treat the St. Helena game just like a postseason contest instead of a league game that has no bearing on the final standings.
“We need to go 5-0 in our next five games,” Shaul said of the St. Helena game and the sectional playoffs that follow.
Barrick didn’t allow a hit until the fourth inning, an infield single that deflected off his glove toward shortstop. He struck out nine and walked two before giving way to Zayne Barker, who worked the final two innings, striking out three.
“Barrick had really good control,” Shaul said. “He had good command of his pitches and was getting his breaking ball over for strikes. He kind of cruised. I pulled him in the sixth only because I want to have all my bullets ready for Friday (St. Helena).”
Kelseyville wasted no time taking the lead against Lower Lake, scoring a run in the top of the first inning. The Knights, winners of 13 straight and now 16-5 overall, picked up another run in the third before adding three runs in the fourth for a 5-0 advantage. They put up three more runs in the sixth and two in the seventh.
Lower Lake (3-10, 7-13) scored its run in the bottom of the sixth to make it 8-1. The Trojans’ only hits were singles by Dylan Sherman, Charles Jones and losing pitcher Edward Gutierrez, who went the first five innings, allowing seven runs (three earned) on seven hits with three strikeouts and three walks.
Kelseyville received hits from seven different players, including two each from Barker (2-for-4, RBI), Reme Strong (2-for-4), double, two RBIs) and Luke Watkins (2-for-3, double). Jon Dougherty (1-for-4) also drove in two runs.
“We hit the ball well today, but they (Trojans) played good defense,” Shaul said. “They ran down a couple of deep balls in the outfield and made most of the plays in the infield.”
“Sherman ran down one in left-center field in the seventh inning that was a really nice play,” Lower Lake head coach Mark Peterson said. “And Blake HIll, a sophomore, made two wonderul plays in left field. Our defense has been pretty good this year.”
Lower Lake will complete a suspended game with St. Helena on Wednesday at 5:15 p.m. in Lower Lake. The Saints were leading the Trojans 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth Friday afternoon with Lower Lake at the plate, a runner on second base with no outs, and an 0-2 count on the batter at the plate when rain halted play. The game will resume at that point. It’s the league finale for Lower Lake.
The Trojans will honor their seniors Thursday at home against Potter Valley in a non-league game that closes out their season at 4 p.m.
In other NCL I games Tuesday:
Clear Lake 10, St. Helena 6
At St. Helena, Clear Lake scored 10 times during a wild top of the third to beat the St. Helena Saints (8-4). Four of the runs scored on consecutive hit batsmen with the bases loaded. Jesse Hayes (2-for-4) had both of hits in the third to drive in three runs, Greyson Wind singled home a run, and winning pitcher Hank Ollenberger had two RBIs in the inning, one on a single and the other after being hit by a pitch.
“I’ll take that all the time,” Clear Lake head coach Brian Horne said of the Cardinals’ double-digit outburst. “They had a sophomore pitching and he got a little wild, but he shut us down after that. We really couldn’t do anything.”
Hit consecutively during the inning to force home runs were Graden Greer, Jacob Horne, Liam Orr and Ollenberger. Five of the Cardinals’ seven hits also came during the 10-run third.
Ollenberger pitched into the seventh inning before Wind got the final three outs. Ollenberger allowed all six St. Helena runs, only three of which were earned, and all seven Saints hits while striking out three and walking two.
Clear Lake (5-8, 7-10) hosts Middletown on Thursday at 4 p.m. in the league finale for both teams.
Willits 5, Middletown 1
At Willits, despite numerous scoring opportunities, the Middletown Mustangs pushed across just one run, that scoring on Chase Schuster’s sacrifice fly in the top of the sixth inning, in a loss to the Willits Wolverines.
Willits (3-10) scored five unearned runs in the bottom of the fifth inning against losing pitcher Jon Hawkins to break open a scoreless battle.
“It just wasn’t there,” Middletown head coach Tyler Holt said of the team’s offense, which out-hit Willits seven to four but had almost nothing to show for it. “We got guys on base, but all of a sudden we forgot how to hit.”
The Mustangs (4-8, 4-15) had runners at first and second with one out in both the first and second innings, runners at second and third with two outs in the third, and a runner at second in the fourth only to come away empty each time. They finally cashed in on Hunter Hartzog’s double, stolen base and Schuster’s sacrifice fly to deep right field in the sixth.
Middletown had a runner thrown out at the plate in the seventh for the final out of the game.
Hartzog (2-for-4), Aiden de Jong (2-for-3) and Jacob Urbani (2-for-2) led Middletown at the plate.
Hawkins worked four-plus innings, allowing four hits, striking out two and walking four. Hartzog recorded the final six outs and didn’t allow a hit. He struck out two and walked one.
Middletown closes out its season Thursday in Lakeport against Clear Lake at 4 p.m.
Upper Lake 10, Technology 7
At Rohnert Park, shut out through the first four innings, the Upper Lake Cougars scored 10 runs in the final three innings to upset NCL II title contender Technology in non-league action.
Trailing 1-0 through four innings, Upper Lake went up 3-1 in the top of the fifth and 8-1 with a five-run sixth inning. Technology also scored five times in the fifth to make it 8-6. The Cougars (5-4) added two insurance runs in the seventh before the Titans came back with a run in the bottom of the seventh.
Johnny Gozony went 3-for-4 with four RBIs to spark Upper Lake’s 14-hit attack. Will Henry went 3-for-5 with a double, two RBIs and three runs scored, Kyler Brothers went 3-for-5 with a double and a RBI, and Nick Foster went 3-for-4 and scored three times.
Gozony started the game on the mound for Upper Lake and pitched two scoreless innings. Kyler Brothers followed him and worked the third and fourth, allowing one run. He became the pitcher of record when Upper Lake pushed ahead to stay with three runs in the the top of the fifth. Ray Rahmer allowed all five of Technology’s runs in the bottom of the sixth, but four Upper Lake errors in the inning made them all unearned. Tyler Collins pitched the final 1 2/3 innings, allowing one run on one hit, striking out four and walking two.
Technology left the bases loaded in the seventh.
Upper Lake travels to Point Arena on Thursday. The winner clinches the NCL III automatic berth into the North Coast Section Division 5 playoffs.
