MIDDLETOWN >> After winning each of its last two North Central League I home games in the final at-bat, the Lower Lake High School softball team took it easy on head coach Chris Emberson’s nerves on Friday afternoon with a 12-0 victory in five innings at Middletown High School.
The Lower Lake softball squad improved to 6-1 in league and 13-4 overall, powered by an eight-run first inning that was more than enough to support the shutout thrown by senior pitcher Ashlynn Mock, who scattered six hits, struck out three and walked none.
“She had command of all of her pitches,” Emberson said. “If she throws like that and if we hit the ball like we did today, I think we’re dangerous,” Lower Lake’s coach said with an eye toward a Tuesday road game in Cloverdale against the Eagles (6-1). “We always play well in Cloverdale and I don’t think we’ve lost a game on the road this season.”
Lower Lake’s first six batters reached safely against losing pitcher Oliver Glosser and the Trojans had a 5-0 lead before the game’s first out was recorded. They ended up sending 12 batters to the plate and collecting seven of their 11 hits in that one inning alone.
Lower Lake added an insurance run in the second and three more in the third.
Middletown is now 1-7 in league play and 6-9 overall.
“Anything that went up in the air today was a challenge to catch,” Middletown coach Barry Glosser said of the windy conditions both teams had to endure.
Lower Lake committed just one error while the home team had four.
Azuree Meza went 2-for-3 with three RBIs for Lower Lake, Kristen Celli went 2-for-3 with a RBI, and Kalysta Howard went 2-for-2 with a RBI. Destiny Apodaca doubled home the game’s first two runs and Mock also had a pair of RBIs. Nine different Trojans had hits.
Middletown’s six hits were divided between six players – Glosser, Aly Ferguson, Mallory Wisely, Hannah Flynn, Abby Murphy and Kendall Mildenberger.
Glosser went the distance for Middletown, walking two.
