MIDDLETOWN — Kris Cole did everything he could on Friday to make sure the Middletown Mustangs would reach the North Coast Section Class A baseball championship game.
He didn”t get much help.
Cole pitched 3 2/3 effective innings during three separate stints on the mound and the senior also slugged a home run to left field, but the Mustangs, co-champions of the North Central League I North, fell 6-2 to No. 1 seed Justin-Siena of Napa in a semifinal-round game at Wes Martin Field in Middletown, where the Mustangs were actually the visiting team because they lost a pre-game coin flip.
Justin-Siena (19-4) will meet the winner of today”s semifinal contest between No. 7 Salesian and No. 3 John Swett in the section championship game either June 2 or June 3.
After pitching 5 1/3 innings on Tuesday in Middletown”s 11-7 first-round win over St. Vincent, Cole still had 4 2/3 innings of eligibility in Friday”s contest (high school pitchers are limited to 10 innings a week by rule). Middletown coach Mike Robertson wisely used his ace only against the top of the Justin-Siena lineup, pulling him for reliever Dusty Hernandez when the Braves were near or at the bottom of their order.
“That was the only thing I could think of that would give us the best chance to win,” Middletown coach Mike Robertson said. “The best thing would be to have a fully rested Kris Cole.”
The Braves have been a nemesis for Lake County teams — and the entire section — for the last few years. They”ll be playing in their fifth straight championship game next weekend and they”re gunning for their fourth straight title, all under the able leadership of coach Allen Rossi.
“We take pride in throwing strikes, running the bases well and timely hitting,” Rossi said of a Justin-Siena team that is down in overall talent from previous seasons, yet fundamentally as sound as ever.
Rossi”s defense is another reason the Braves return to the playoffs year after year. The Marin County Athletic League runner-up almost never commits an error and the Braves were flawless in the field Friday, which is one reason why they won.
Another reason is hard-throwing senior Matt Leonard, who struck out 10, walked one and allowed just two hits — solo home runs to Grant Young in the top of the first and to Cole in the top of the third.
“He shut down one of the best hitting teams around, holding them to two hits, and he struck out 10,” Rossi said.
“Let”s face it, he”s tough,” Robertson said of Leonard, who will be playing for Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo next year. “He”s probably the best pitcher I”ve seen all year.”
Cole is right up there, too, according to both Robertson and Rossi.
“Give me nine kids like Kris and we”ll be just fine,” Robertson said. “He”s a real competitor.”
“He”s legitimate,” Rossi said. “I would love to have him on my team.”
While Cole and Hernandez, who took the loss, pitched effectively, the Middletown defense made far too many mistakes to give either of its pitchers a chance to win. The Mustangs committed four errors, including a costly two-out dropped fly ball that accounted for the Braves” final two runs during a three-run uprising in the bottom of the fifth.
Only two of the Braves” runs were earned.
“The team that makes the fewest mistakes in the playoffs wins almost every time,” Rossi said.
Young hit a towering fly ball to right field with two outs in the top of the first that sailed beyond the fence to give the Mustangs a 1-0 lead.
“I really wasn”t surprised,” Rossi said of how well the ball carried, aided by the wind. “He hit it out there pretty good and the wind was blowing that way.”
“Because it was hit so high I didn”t know if it would make it out,” Robertson said.
Justin-Siena pulled even in the bottom of the inning without aid of a hit as two Middletown errors on the same play allowed Garrett Wright to score from second base.
The Braves went in front 2-1 in the second. Harrison Bell reached on an error, moved to second on a wild pitch and to third on a passed ball-third strike to Tony Smaldino, who was safe at first. Cole replaced Hernandez, who opened the inning on the mound, and gave up an RBI single to Justin-Siena lead-off hitter Patrick Mendonca. Cole picked Smaldino off second base to end the inning.
Cole evened the score in the top of the third with a tremendous shot to left field, a blast that cut through the wind and still had more than enough carry to clear the fence.
“He crushed it,” Robertson said.
The Braves pushed ahead to stay with a run that was charged to Hernandez in the bottom of the fourth. Daniel Castillo led off by drawing a walk and pinch-runner Dylan Rosa advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Smaldino popped out to medium-deep right field and Rosa tagged up and moved to third, at which point Cole once again relieved Hernandez. Unfortunately a wild pitch foiled the strategy as Rosa raced home with what proved to be the winning run.
Justin-Siena busted the game open in the bottom of the fifth. Wright drew a lead-off walk against Cole and Leonard put down a sacrifice bunt. After Cole struck out Tim Steggall, Jason Lehman bounced a grounder past third baseman Josh Gipson and into left field, the final hit of the day by either team. Wright scored on the play to make it 4-2. After Garrett Roualdes was hit by a pitch, sending Lehman to second, Castillo lofted a fly ball into right field that the wind pushed toward the right-field line. Thomas Jackson had the ball in his glove but it popped out at the last second and both runners scored.
“You can”t give him (Leonard) that much of a lead,” Robertson said. “He doesn”t walk anybody and they don”t make any errors, which means you have to do all the work yourself. They”re not going to help you.”
Leonard issued his one and only walk to Young leading off the Middletown seventh, but the Mustangs couldn”t make anything of it. After Gipson bounced into a force play at second, erasing Young, Brad Finley popped out and Hernandez struck out to end the game.
Middletown finishes the season at 18-5.
Looking back on the 2006 season, Robertson said one of the most satisfying parts was coaching Cole.
“He”s a legitimately great kid,” Robertson said. “He works hard and he hates to lose.”
Cole won 10 of his 12 decisions for the Mustangs this season.
