Kelseyville second baseman Alex Cabrera forces a Justin-Siena runner at second base in the top of the fifth inning Saturday afternoon during a North Coast Section Division 4 playoff game at Lloyd Larson Field. Justin-Siena won 5-1 to end Kelseyville’s season. (Photo by Bob Minenna)
KELSEYVILLE — Everet Johnson allowed a first-inning run before shutting Kelseyville’s bats down and the Justin-Siena Braves of Napa ended the Knights’ season with a 5-1 victory Saturday in the quarterfinal round of the North Coast Section Division 4 baseball playoffs at Lloyd Larson Field.
“I was surprised to see him,” Kelseyville head coach Billy Shaul said of Johnson, who worked six strong innings and allowed only two hits while striking out nine and walking just one. “He threw 60 pitches (Wednesday) in their win the other day (10-5 over Berean Christian in a first-round game). I thought they would come back with their No. 2 or 3 guys.”
Johnson allowed a two-out RBI single to Brock Barrick in the bottom of the first inning but struck out the next five Knights he faced, including Zayne Barker and Luke Watkins to end the first, stranding two runners. Johnson struck out the side in the second although Kyle Watkins reached on an error after strike three. Joey Gentle was then by a pitch before Tyler Bryant flied out to center field.
“That’s what we were missing, that one big hit,” Shaul said of leaving two runners on bases in each of the first two innings.
Kelseyville (18-6) never threatened again. Johnson faced the minimum 12 batters over his final four innings of work, the Knights’ only baserunner coming on Kyle Watkins’ bunt single to open the fifth. He was immediately erased on a 6-4-3 double play.
“That’s a good pitcher,” Shaul said of Johnson, a junior.
Braeden Butler worked a 1-2-3 seventh in relief of Johnson to close out the game and the Knights’ season, one during which they won 15 straight games, including all 14 of their North Central League I contests. Until Saturday, their lost was March 24 in the first game of a non-league doubleheader against Arcata.
“To go almost two months without a loss is a huge accomplishment,” Shaul said. “This is a hard game.”
Johnson was ultra-careful with the heart of Kelseyville’s batting order, pitching them backward, according to Shaul. Instead of challenging them with fastballs, he fed them a steady diet of sliders before coming back with his fastball.
“His velocity makes him tough and he has a good slider he can throw, which makes him even tougher,” Shaul said. “He showed our 3-4-5 guys a lot of respect the way he pitched to them.”
Johnson’s counterpart, Jon Dougherty of the Knights, had a rough day that didn’t last long. Although he retired Justin-Siena in order in the top of the first, the Braves’ first two batters both hit the ball hard. Trevor L’Esperance hit a medium-deep flyball to center field and Johnson lined out to left.
Justin-Siena (14-9) continued to hit the ball hard in the top of the second, lining four singles, three of which drove in runs. Combined with a walk and a rare Kelseyville outfield error, the Braves pushed across four runs and never looked back.
Dalen Tinsley singled to get things started, Jake Fletcher worked the count full before walking and Sam Denkin hit a hard single into left field that was misplayed for an error. Tinsley scored while Fletcher motored around to third and Denkin to second. Henry Meyers drilled a single on the first pitch from Dougherty to score Fletcher and Denkin. He moved up to second base on the throw home. Noah Giovannelli’s single into left-center field brought home Meyers to make it 4-1.
When Dougherty hit Luke Giuston with his first pitch of the third inning, Shaul immediately went to his bullpen for senior Zayne Barker, who opened the game at shortstop. Barker worked five very effective innings in relief, allowing just three hits and one run — that on a two-out Johnson RBI double down the left-field line in the top of the fourth.
Barker succeeded in keeping the score close, but the Knights had no answer for Johnson on this day.
“Zayne did a great job,” Shaul said of the four-year varsity starter.
On Dougherty’s tough day, Shaul said, “It’s hard to be perfect in baseball. Starting Jon gives us our best lineup and our best defense.”
While Justin-Siena, the No. 5 seed, moves on to play the winner of Saturday night’s quarterfinal-round matchup between No. 1 seed Fortuna and No. 8 Piedmont in the semifinals on Wednesday, Kelseyville can now look to next season when juniors Dougherty and Trey Broyles and sophomores Brock Barrick, Tyler Bryant, Reme Strong, Kyle Watkins and Max Hommer all return.
The Knights do graduate six seniors that were instrumental in the team’s success this season. Barker, Joey Gentle, Jake Burke, Alex Cabrera, Luke Watkins and Andrew Huggins all left their imprint on the team, according to Shaul.
“They did a great job leading us,” Shaul said of the seniors. “I couldn’t have asked more from my seniors. They helped start another good run for Kelseyville baseball.”
