A wise old baseball man once said that the three most important aspects of the game are pitching, pitching and pitching.
The varsity baseball Eagles would not dispute that claim after a couple of outstanding mound efforts in a pair of recent league games.
The performances netted Cloverdale an even split in two games, starting with a 12-0 win against Willits and ending in a tough, 2-0 loss to Kelseyville.
“Pitching was the highlight of the week, with two great outings,” Eagle’s coach Ben West confirmed. “Pitching and defense were good for us (against Willits) and Josh (Lemley) was able to compete and limit walks. Against Kelseyville, David Alvarez pitched a fantastic game and only walked one batter in a complete-game effort.”
At press time the Eagles (7-7, 5-4) were preparing for upcoming games against Middletown (May 4) and at St. Helena on Friday, May 7. Cloverdale will host Lower Lake next Tuesday, May 11. All games start at 4 p.m.
Eagles forge split
It was all Cloverdale in the April 27 visit to Willits, sending senior Josh Lemley to the hill in what amounted to a great outing. The lanky senior fired four innings of three-hit ball, yielding no runs while fanning four before handing the ball to Alvarez (1 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 2 Ks) to close out a 12-0 rout.
“We were able to handle business against Willits,” West said. “They’re a young team that is still developing and we were able to capitalize on some of the tough plays that did not go their way.”
Pacing the Eagle’s hitting attack were Alvarez (2 for 4, 2B, 2 runs, 2 RBIs), Gabe Wlodaczyk (2 for 3, run), Kagen Jones (1 for 1, RBI), Caden Axell (1 for 2, run, RBI), Casey Lemley (1 for 2, run, 3 RBIs) and Andy Herrera (1 for 3, 2 runs).
Alvarez got the start in Friday’s visit to Kelseyville, keeping his team in the game with a complete-game, six-hitter, allowing one earned run while fanning six. The Knights tallied solo runs in the first and third innings, while the Cloverdale bats were held in check most of the way en route to a 2-0 Kelseyville victory.
“Kelseyville’s pitcher was able to establish the outside corner and mix speeds well, we had a hard time timing him up,” West noted. “It was a pitcher’s duel against two evenly matched teams, but the other team was just able to capitalize when needed and we were not.”
Hitting safely for the Eagles were Lemley (2 for 2), Logan Axell (1 for 3) and Emilio Diaz (1 for 3).
