MIDDLETOWN — Two teams in desperate need of a victory squared off Thursday afternoon at Wes Martin Field and it was the Clear Lake Cardinals who got it, 14-0, in North Central League I varsity baseball action.
The game went the full, painful seven innings for the Mustangs, who surrendered 11 runs in the final two innings. Middletown, once just a game out of the league lead at 4-1, fell to 4-7 in the NCL I standings and 8-13 overall, a loser of seven straight overall.
“It”s the worst stretch I”ve ever been through,” Middletown coach Mitch Tucker said of his team”s late-season slide.
Clear Lake (6-4, 10-8) snapped a three-game losing streak and also avenged an 8-4 loss to Middletown earlier this season at Lakeport. While both teams have had trouble hitting the ball in recent games, the Cardinals snapped out of their funk with 15 hits, including solid days at the plate by Chad Elliston, who went 3-for-4 with four RBI, and winning pitcher Joey Blair, who went 3-for-4 with two RBI.
Middletown staff ace Kyle Brown kept the game close, leaving after 4 1/3 innings with the Mustangs trailing 3-0. Clear Lake pounded the pitchers who followed him to the mound, scoring six times in the sixth — after two were out — and adding five more runs in the seventh.
While Middletown”s pitching has struggled mightily during the losing streak — allowing eight or more runs six times in the last seven games – the team”s offense hasn”t done much better.
“Runners in scoring position with less than two outs, we haven”t been able to get them home,” Tucker said.
Middletown had runners at second and third with one out in the first inning and the bases loaded with one out in the fourth and was turned away both times by Blair, who tossed a three-hitter, striking out five and walking none.
“Kyle needs a little bit of support,” Tucker said. “He threw well today, but you can”t ask him to not allow any runs.
“In our last seven games we”ve scored seven runs and that tells the story,” Tucker added.
Clear Lake had scored only two runs in its three previous games, so the Cardinals juggled their lineup against Middletown.
“Today we started three seniors, five juniors and a sophomore,” Clear Lake assistant coach Gary Milhaupt said. “They lit a fire under us.”
Two of those younger players also solidified the troublesome 6-7-8 spots in the Clear Lake batting order. Login Kessinger went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI and Alex Andrews went 1-for-3 with two RBI.
“Both of those guys did a great job,” Milhaupt said. “Everybody in the starting lineup had a hit, which is the thing I”m happy about. Today was a big win for us and we just need to keep that momentum rolling into the weekend and into next week.”
Reid Carpenter, Logan Smith and Luke Humphrey had the only hits allowed by Blair, who opened the season with Clear Lake before leaving the team early last month.
Clear Lake returns to action Saturday at home against Willits, remains home Monday to play league-leading St. Helena, and hits the road Tuesday to take on Kelseyville. The first game of the Willits doubleheader Saturday begins at 11 a.m. Middletown hosts Cloverdale on Monday at 4 p.m.
