Loara’s Loss to Katella Might Linger

Loara, which fell to Katella, 4-0, Wednesday at Boysen Park, had the kind of loss that could linger on the Saxons’ minds the rest of the baseball season.

Katella (15-4, 7-1), in a tight race with Cypress for the Empire League title, changed its rotation for the game. Instead of ace Joe Fraser, the Knights started Keawe Kuehnel.

“We wanted to save Joe for Glover Stadium on Friday [against Loara], where he has a 13-scoreless inning streak going,” Katella Coach Tim McMenamin said.

But the Saxons (11-7, 3-5), who are competing for the league’s third playoff spot, did not look like a team bound for postseason play.

They managed only four hits against Kuehnel, who walked none and struck out five. Only once did Loara threaten Kuehnel, the junior right-hander, loading the bases with one out in the sixth. But the Saxons could not get the hit to get them back in the game.

“I felt a little tired in the sixth,” Kuehnel said, “but I knew if I got out of that inning, I would shut them out in the seventh.”

And in the game’s pivotal inning--the third, with the score still 1-0--the Saxons had two Katella runners trapped but could not execute a proper rundown and got no outs.

Kuehnel (6-2) not only pitched a complete game, he played a complete game. Batting fourth in Katella’s lineup, Kuehnel drove in all the runs with an RBI single in the first and a bases-loaded double in the third.

“People talk about Fraser, but Keawe is a hot pitcher right now,” McMenamin said. “He has four pitches he can throw for strikes, and he showed a lot of poise in the sixth.”

With games against Cypress, Kennedy and El Dorado, as well as Friday’s with Katella, Saxon Coach David Lappin has to downplay the defeat.

“We’re in a league where anything happens,” Lappin said. “I had considered this a pivotal series because of who we face the next three weeks. A split keeps us in the hunt, but that will be harder now.

“I was disappointed with our hitters. With the bases loaded and one out, you need to make something happen. And defensively we had a chance to get out of the third with minimal damage and did not make the plays. But also, give all the credit to Keawe, who pitched a fine game.”