LAKEPORT — Shut out on one hit by Clear Lake”s Chad Elliston through five innings and trailing 3-0, the Middletown Mustangs stormed back to beat the Cardinals 8-4 in a North Central League I varsity baseball game on Tuesday in Lakeport.
Clear Lake (1-1 league, 4-5 overall) scored three times in the bottom of the third against Middletown ace Kyle Brown.
“He was pretty frustrated, but he gathered himself after the third inning,” Middletown coach Mitch Tucker said. “He got into a really good groove,” Clear Lake assistant coach Gary Milhaupt said. “We were hoping to get him out of there.”
Brown kept putting up zeroes while waiting for his offense to come around. It finally did in the top of the sixth as the Mustangs battled back to tie the game at 3. They then pushed ahead with a five-run seventh.
“Hang in there and good things happen,” Tucker said of the come-from-behind win that pushes Middletown to 3-1 in the NCL I standings and back above the .500 mark on the season at 7-6.
Reid Carpenter (2-for-4, four RBI) had clutch hits for the Mustangs in the sixth and seventh, singling home two runs in each inning. The Cardinals also made key errors in both frames (a dropped fly ball in the sixth and an infield error in the seventh) to aid Middletown”s comeback.
Carpenter”s two-run single in the sixth tied the game at 3. Brad Bologna (2-for-3) singled home the first two runs for Middletown in the seventh to put them ahead to stay at 5-3. Carpenter”s two-run single followed and made it 7-3.
Brown struck out seven and walked three. Elliston worked 5 2/3 innings before giving way to reliever Oren Ruffcorn, who took the loss.
Stone Phillips went 3-for-4 with a double and triple for Clear Lake. Matt Gatton went 2-for-4.
