UPPER LAKE — Kyle Brown”s first start of the season was a keeper.
Brown, the junior quarterback who helped guide Middletown”s football team to the North Coast Section Division IV championship game last fall, tossed a no-hitter on Tuesday as the Mustangs shut out the Upper Lake Cougars 7-0 in a non-league varsity baseball game at Upper Lake.
It was the fourth straight victory for the Mustangs (4-1), who nursed a 1-0 lead into the top of the fifth. Middletown rallied for four runs in the inning to give Brown some margin for error even if he didn”t need it.
“He threw strikes ? he was pounding the strike zone,” Middletown coach Mitch Tucker said. “He threw 108 pitches and I didn”t want him to throw more than 100 because it was his first start, but he had a no-hitter going.”
Brown struck out nine, walked two and hit one. Middletown committed a single error behind him, that coming in the bottom of the sixth when Upper Lake”s Stoney Timmons hit a grounder to third base with two outs. Bryan Holt”s throw across the diamond was off the mark and Timmons was safe. Both scorebooks logged the play as an error.
“I checked with them just to be sure,” Tucker said.
In the bottom of the seventh, Upper Lake”s Chris Colon hit a liner into left field that Andres Fernandez caught at “belly button level,” according to Tucker.
“It was a nice play,” Tucker said. “He got a good jump on the ball.”
Until the fifth inning, the only run of the game was Blaine Amos” RBI grounder in the top of the second. Austin Hunter”s two-run double keyed the Mustangs” four-run rally in the fifth. Eric Schenck followed with a run double to make it 4-0 and Schenck then stole third and scored when the throw sailed into left field for an error.
Middletown picked up two more insurance runs in the seventh on a two-out, bases-loaded single by Jon Tanguay.
Schenk, Saul Preciado and Conner Chick had two hits apiece for the Mustangs.
Losing pitcher Billy Armstrong worked five innings for the Cougars (2-4) , striking out three and walking none.
“He was throwing strikes just like Brown,” Tucker said.
Middletown plays today in Cloverdale at 4 p.m. Upper Lake travels to Fort Bragg on Thursday.
Notes: Middletown was 1-4 after its first five games a year ago. In fact, the Mustangs won their 2010 opener before losing seven straight. They ended up 15-10.
