Frustrating Thursday for K’ville

Knights drop two, Cougars win 35-0

COLUSA >> A seven-run Colusa sixth inning ended a long and frustrating day for the Kelseyville High School varsity baseball team on Thursday in the opening rounds of the Colusa Tournament.

Kelseyville lost in walk-off fashion in a 6-5 setback to East Nicolaus in a first-round game, the Knights’ fourth consecutive one-run setback, and then blew a 2-0 lead against Colusa in second-round action as the Redhawks erupted in the top of the sixth for a 7-2 victory.

The Knights (1-5) are off Friday but return to Colusa for a finalround game Saturday against an opponent to be determined.

“We’re playing really well for five or six innings,” Kelseyville head coach Lou Poloni said. “Once we figure out how to play seven full, we’ll be OK. It’s pretty much something different every game.”

Starting pitcher Jeremy Brown took a shutout into the top of the sixth against Colusa before things went south, according to Poloni. Brown was eventually replaced by reliever Zayne Barker, who recorded the final two outs after the damage had been done.

“We just fell apart in the sixth,” Poloni said.

The rally began harmlessly enough as Colusa had a runner at second base with one out. That’s when a series of Redhawks batters reached on hits, walks, a hit batsman and errors.

“It just snowballed,” Poloni said.

The game was stopped after six innings because of a tournament time limit.

Matt Harris (1-for-1) and Jacob Jensen (0-for-2) drove in Kelseyville runs in the second and fourth innings.

Against East Nicolaus in a firstround game, the Spartans, aided by a Kelseyville error, scored twice in the bottom of the seventh to wipe out a 5-4 Kelseyville lead.

Harris, working in relief of starter Tyler Linnell, pitched a 1-2-3 sixth inning but immediately ran into trouble in the seventh by walking two batters and allowing a double. Linnell worked the first five innings, allowing four runs — three earned — on six hits. He struck out nine and walked three.

Kelseyville took a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the fifth when East Nicolaus scored three times against Linnell to tie it. The Knights pushed in front 5-4 with a run in the top of the sixth.

Chase Larsen went 3-for-4 and drove in two runs for Kelseyville. Keithly (1-for-4) and Jonny Rixen (1-for-1) also drove in runs.

In other non-league action Thursday:

Upper Lake 35, Potter Valley 0

At Potter Valley, two days after losing 24-0 to Middletown, the Upper Lake Cougars came

back to rout the Potter Valley Bearcats.

“It was good to bounce back,” Upper Lake head coach Brian Milhaupt said. “I can’t ever remember losing by 20 and than beating a team by 20 in a two-day span.”

Dalton Slater went 5-for5, doubled three times and drove in three runs as part of a 30-hit Upper Lake attack. Jonathon Thiessen went 5-for-6, Cody Banks went 4-for-4 with a double and a triple, and Bradley Sneathen went 2-for-5 with a double, triple and six RBIs.

Diego Velasco, Benat Love, Rocco Bassignani, Cody Snider, Dylan Slater and Russell Gordon added two hits apiece.

After taking a 5-0 lead in the top of the first inning, the Cougars tallied 18 runs in the second.

The 35 runs scored by the Cougars was 34 more than starting pitcher Love needed to win the game. He went the distance throwing only 69 pitches. He scattered three hits, struck out seven and walked none.

“He pitched great and we played good defense behind him,” Milhaupt said as the Cougars committed only one error.

Upper Lake’s scheduled game Friday against Clear Lake in Lakeport has been canceled because the Cardinals don’t have enough healthy players to suit up. Depending on the weather next week — rain is in the forecast — the Cougars are scheduled host Lower Lake on Tuesday before hitting the road Thursday for a doubleheader at South Fork.