Knights beat Trojans, Cards fall 4-0
Kelseyville climbs above .500 in league play with victory at Lower Lake
Kelseyville built a 10-0 lead before the Lower Lake Trojans battled back to make a game of it, eventually falling 11-6 to the Knights in North Central League I softball action Tuesday afternoon in Lower Lake.
Kelseyville (6-5 league, 8-10 overall) pushed back above the .500 mark in league play although the Knights still have a doubleheader remaining Thursday at St. Helena (12-0). A league game postponed last Friday against last-place Willits will not be made up, according to head coach Julie Jackson.
“There just isn’t time to do it,” Jackson said of the regular season, which ends Friday.
Both teams received solid outings from their bullpen. Mya Ogo, working in relief of starter Jayden Paulich, pitched five innings for the Knights and struck out eight to earn the victory.
“Mya really got into a groove,” Kelseyville head coach Julie Jackson said.
Likewise Lower Lake’s Kaitlyn Klein relieved starter Keeley Parks after the Trojans fell behind 10-0.
“We had to do something,” Lower Lake head coach Tara Downey said. “Kaitlyn settled us down and we started to play better.”
Parks came back to pitch the final two innings.
“Changing pitchers kind of threw us off a little bit,” Jackson said.
Lower Lake (2-12, 3-14) scored a run in the second and four more in the third to get as close as 105. Both teams scored in the sixth for their final runs.
“It was an excellent game, great sportsmanship all around,” Downey said. “They are a fun team to play.”
Speaking of sportsmanship, Lower Lake honored Kelseyville’s lone senior, Ari Fossa, with a bouquet of flowers while her own teammates presented her with balloons and other gifts. While teams usually acknowledge their seniors during the final home
game of the regular season, Fossa missed out when the Knights postponed their final home game last Friday against Willits. Kelseyville plays a road doubleheader Thursday in St. Helena, so Fossa might have gone without any of the usual senior kudos had not the Trojans stepped up.
“Their coach is super to do that,” Jackson said of Downey.
Faith McIntire went 2-for-3 with a double, a RBI and a walk for the Knights. Morgan Rogers (1-for-4) and Kat Wheelan (1-for-3, double) also drove in two runs apiece. Olivia Raabe went 1-for-1 with a double and a RBI.
For Lower Lake, Brandy Klein went 3-for-4 and Aliana Barnes (double), Norma Tremble and Parks added two hits apiece.
“Overall it was win,” Jackson said.
It was Lower Lake’s final game of the season and Downey said she’ll return for a second season in 2024.
“There was a lot of trial and error,” Downey said of her first season as head coach. “Figuring out which
a good things work and don’t work. We had our share of ups and downs, but I’m ready to be back next year and I have a game plan.”
In other NCL
Tuesday:
I action
St. Helena 4, Clear Lake 0
At St. Helena, winning pitcher Aribella Farrell blanked Clear Lake on two hits — singles by Sierra Bruch and Stella Hills — as St. Helena clinched the outright league championship with a win over the Cardinals in their final league game.
It’s the second straight outing the Cardinals (7-7, 129) have been shut out. They lost 2-0 to Fort Bragg ace Cassiti Baroni on Friday in Lakeport.
“She’s a very good pitcher and trying to get a hit against her is tough … for most teams, not just us,” Clear Lake head coach Scott Schaefers said of the senior Farrell, who struck out eight and walked four.
Losing pitcher Lilianna Cruz once again threw well in defeat for the Cardinals. She allowed eight hits, struck out five and walked two.
Clear Lake’s best scoring opportunity came in the top of the sixth with the Cardinals trailing 4-0. They loaded the bases with one out on a Bruch single and consecutive walks to Rubi Ford and Amber Smart. Farrell worked out of the jam by striking out cleanup hitter Cruz on three pitches and getting Grace Gomez on a grounder to second base.
“No timely hitting,” Schaefers said.
St. Helena (12-0, 18-4) scored single runs in the first and fourth innings for a 2-0 lead. The Saints tacked on two insurance runs in the fifth.
Clear Lake will apply for an at-large berth in the North Coast Section Division 5 playoffs that get under way early next week. St. Helena is home to play Kelseyville in a doubleheader Thursday.
Middletown 21, Willits 9
At Willits, the Middletown Mustangs beat Willits in six innings, defeating the Wolverines for the second time in as many days. Middletown won 17-7 in six innings on Monday in Middletown.
Middletown improved to 5-8 in league and 6-8 overall. The Mustangs concluded their season with a home game Wednesday against Cloverdale.
Game statistics were not available.