MIDDLETOWN >> In his final game as Middletown High School’s varsity baseball coach, Brad Holt watched his Mustangs rally for three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to beat Fort Bragg 9-6 in North Central League I action at Wes Martin Field on Tuesday afternoon.
Holt said he was informed by school officials that he will not be returning for a fourth season in 2017.
“Not productive enough,” Holt said when asked why he was not being retained.
The win over Fort Bragg on Tuesday gives Holt a 21-21 league record in his three seasons as the Mustangs’ skipper and a 30-39 overall mark.
Sam Pyzer’s two-run double to right field snapped a 6-all tie in the bottom of the sixth after Fort Bragg’s pitcher walked the bases loaded to open the inning. The Mustangs added another run on a wild pitch and reliever Albert Ruske made the lead stand up with 1 2/3 innings of perfect relief. Ruske, the winning pitcher, struck out two and walked none.
Fort Bragg rallied from deficits of 5-1 and 6-4 to tie the game with two runs in the top of the sixth against Middletown starter Travis Williams.
Pyzer went 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs to lead Middletown at the plate. Stephen Amos went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs.
Middletown finishes the season at 6-8 in league and 8-13 overall.
In other action Tuesday:
Willits 9, Lower Lake 4
At Willits, at least the Lower Lake Trojans went down swinging as Sean McCarthy singled home two runs in the top of the seventh inning against the Willits Wolverines.
Lower Lake finishes the 2016 campaign 0-14 in the league standings and 5-16 overall.
The Trojans grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on Jordan McGrath’s RBI double and a RBI groundout off the bat of Ryan Hallsted. Willits got those two runs back in the bottom half of the inning and pushed ahead to stay with two runs in the fourth. The Wolverines then pulled away with a five-run fifth.
McGrath, the first of three Lower Lake pitchers, took the loss. Hokulani Wickard worked a scoreless bottom of the sixth, striking out two.
McGrath had two of Lower Lake’s five hits, both doubles. McCarthy, Ethan Watson and Eric Graves also had hits.
Softball
Fort Bragg 12, M’town 4
At Middletown, Fort Bragg took advantage of 11 Middletown errors to beat the Mustangs in NCL I softball action.
“It was bad,” Middletown coach Barry Glosser said of the team’s subpar effort in the field. “It was frustrating.”
Fort Bragg built a 9-0 lead before Middletown (3-10, 8-12) got on the scoreboard with two runs in the bottom of the fourth, both scoring on a triple by Brittney Holt (3-for-4, 3 RBIs). Holt also singled home Middletown’s final run in the seventh.
Aly Ferguson and Abby Murphy added two hits apiece for the Mustangs.
Losing pitcher Olivia Glosser struck out six and walked none.
The Mustangs close out their season today when they travel to Fort Bragg for a rematch with the Timberwolves at 4 p.m.
St. Vincent 15, Upper Lake 2
At Upper Lake, the St. Vincent Mustangs had only four hits but drew 21 walks in their NCL II victory over the Upper Lake Cougar.s
The game was stopped after five innings because of the 10-run rule.
Rebecca Harper and Megan Franco each went 1-for-2 with a RBI for Upper Lake (3-6, 6-13).
Upper Lake lost 9-5 to Technology in a league game on Saturday in Rohnert Park. Cheyanne Obedoza went 3-for-4 with a RBI for Upper Lake and Bailey Young went 2-for-4 with a double. Losing pitcher Julia Mooney struck out seven and walked seven.
JV baseball
Lower Lake 11, Willits 6
Lower Lake 8, Willits 1
At Lower Lake, the Lower Lake Trojans closed out league play by sweeping the Willits Wolverines in a doubleheader.
The sweep gives the Trojans a 10-4 league record for the second year in a row. They were 15-5 overall.
Jack Mitcham went 4-for-5 with a double in game one while Izzac Carver, Austin Oranje, Antonio Padilla, Gage Thayer and JT Tinkler added two hits each. Padilla, Carver and Tinkler also drove in two runs apiece.
Mike Taliaferro, the second of three Lower Lake pitchers, was the winner.
In game two, Lower Lake won 8-1 behind Mitcham’s complete game. Tinkler, Padilla, Mitcham, Taliaferro and Williams Plubell all had hits for the Trojans.
