Lower Lake, Upper Lake varsity baseball teams come up short in NCL I action
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CLOVERDALE >> Middletown High School’s varsity baseball team was looking at a fifth straight league loss before scoring six times in the top of the seventh inning Friday afternoon against the Cloverdale Eagles in Cloverdale.
With Cloverdale (0-7 league, 4-9 overall) leading 3-1 and three outs away from claiming its first North Central League I win, the Mustangs erupted and went on to beat the Eagles 7-5.
Austin Davis came off the bench to play defense in the sixth inning for the Mustangs (4-5, 8-8) and delivered a key hit in the seventh, singling home two runs to tie the game at 3-3. He later scored.
Cody Perez, working in relief of starting pitcher Jon Hawkins, who hit the 110-pitch after 5 2/3 innings, threw the final 1 1/3 innings for the win, surviving a two-run Cloverdale bottom of the seventh.
“The Mustangs blew several chances to score runs and stranded a lot of runners,” Middletown head coach Marc Humphrey said of the first six innings. “Finally, the bats woke up.”
Added Humphrey, “Jon Hawkins pitched a great game until reaching the pitch count maximum.”
Cloverdale scored single runs in the first, third and sixth innings, all charged to Hawkins. Middletown’s first run came in the top of the third.
The Mustangs ended up with 15 hits, led by Hawkins (3-for-4, double, triple, three RBIs).
“Hawkins continues to hit the ball extremely well,” Humphrey said of the senior, who also stole two bases and scored twice.
Hunter Karp went 2-for-5 with a RBI while Hayden Xavier, Cody de Jong and Blake Costlow added two hits apiece. Davis, Finney, Madden Sutton and Cody Perez (1-for-4, RBI) also had hits.
Hawkins struck out 11 and walked three while allowing four hits and one earned run.
Middletown travels to St. Helena on Tuesday for a 4 p.m. game with the Saints (9-1), who are tied with Clear Lake for first place atop the NCL I standings.
In other NCL I action Friday:
St. Helena 11, Lower Lake 2
At St. Helena, the Saints kept pace with Clear Lake atop the league standings by beating Lower Lake. St. Helena scored seven times in the bottom of the first and led 11-0 after three innings.
Winning pitcher Kia Blasingame limited the Trojans to three hits while striking out and walking four.
Julian Earls went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs for St. Helena while Huck Anderson went 2-for-3 with a double and RBI. Dean Sommer (1-for-1) rove in two runs.
Lower Lake stats weren’t reported. The Trojans are 1-7 in league play and 4-12-1 overall.
Lower Lake travels to Fort Bragg on Tuesday for a 4 p.m. game.
Fort Bragg 16, Upper Lake 1 (5 inn.)
At Upper Lake, victims of a perfect game when they played at Fort Bragg on Wednesday, the Upper Lake Cougars managed one hit in a five-inning loss to the Timberwolves two days later.
“We had a chance for a couple of others (hits), but their shortstop played a game and a half,” Upper Lake head coach Don Meri said.
George Rahmer singled in the first inning for the Cougars (1-8, 3-11). Upper Lake almost had another hit, but Landen Robinson’s line drive headed to right field was caught by the Fort Bragg second baseman and turned into an inning-ending double play.
Three Fort Bragg pitchers combined on the one-hitter.
Tyler Collins was the losing pitcher.
Upper Lake has a tough week ahead as the Cougars are home Tuesday against Clear Lake (9-1), away Wednesday at Kelseyville (6-3) and at Lakeport Friday for a rematch with Clear Lake. All three games start at 4 p.m.
Fort Bragg is 6-4 in league and 11-8 overall.
