MIDDLETOWN — Their league and regular season schedules now complete, the Middletown Mustangs will sit back and play the waiting game until Sunday when the 12-team field for the North Coast Section Division IV baseball playoffs is announced.
Middletown put the finishing touches on a 5-3 North Central League I North run and a 14-9 overall record Wednesday with a five-inning 11-1 victory over the Lower Lake Trojans at Wes Martin Field.
“I”ll definitely apply,” Middletown coach Mitch Tucker said of the possibility of the Mustangs reaching the Division IV playoffs as an at-large team. “I really don”t know what our chances are. It depends on how much they look at strength of schedule. There are a couple of teams (Healdsburg and El Molino) that don”t have as many wins as us, but they”ve played tough schedules.”
Kelseyville (15-7) and Clear Lake (12-8-1) are in the running, too. Kelseyville has two games left and Clear Lake one. Middletown split with Kelseyville in league play and lost twice to Clear Lake in non-league action.
Middletown takes a three-game winning streak into what Tucker hopes will be a first-round sectional playoff game early next week. The Mustangs spotted Lower Lake a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but they pushed ahead to stay with two runs in the bottom of the inning and kept on adding to their advantage from there, scoring three times in the second, three times in the third, twice in the fourth and once in the fifth.
Zach Strickler”s third hit of the game, a run-scoring double with one out in the bottom of the fifth, pushed Middletown”s lead to 11-1, at which point the game was called on account of the 10-run rule.
Winning pitcher Johnny Harmyk went the distance on the mound for Middletown and got stronger as the game went on, according to Tucker. He allowed two hits and an unearned run in the top of first, but pitched nearly perfect ball the rest of the way.
“After the first inning, he allowed just one baserunner ? a walk in the last inning,” Tucker said.
Harmyk also struck out 10, one day after teammate Devin Nordin struck out 14 in a 5-2 victory over Kelseyville. He also helped his own cause by going 1-for-4 with a double and a RBI.
Eric Schenck went 2-for-2 and scored twice for the Mustangs.
Stephen Whitcomb went the distance on the mound for Lower Lake, striking out one and walking five.
