MIDDLETOWN >> Two new coaches have the Middletown High School baseball teams off to perfect starts in the 2017 North Central League I race.
While the preseason portion of their schedules couldn’t have been more different, both first-year varsity coach Jeff Mielke and first-year junior varsity coach Jon Hoogendoorn have their teams atop the standings through the first week-plus of a league race that won’t wrap up until late next month.
Mielke, who guided the JV squad to a 22-1 record a year ago, had to wait more than a month into the 2017 season before getting his first varsity win. The Mustangs stumbled out of the gate to the tune of 0-9 although they were playing a demanding schedule and seemingly couldn’t catch a break in those first nine games.
Things finally started to change on March 28 when Middletown finally won on the road, beating Sonoma Academy 6-0 in a non-league game. The Mustangs have since run that winning streak to three in a row with league road victories over Cloverdale, 6-0, and Clear Lake, 5-3. They can get their first home win Tuesday against St. Helena before hitting the road again Friday to play Willits.
Middletown is one of three teams still without a league loss. The others are defending champion Kelseyville (3-0) and Fort Bragg (3-0). Kelseyville hosts Fort Bragg on Friday. Middletown plays both teams next week at home – Kelseyville on April 18 and Fort Bragg on April 21.
While the Middletown varsity struggled in the early going, not so Hoogendoorns’ JV squad, which won six straight non-league games before opening league play with victories over Cloverdale, Lower Lake and Clear Lake. The 9-0 Mustangs could be 13-0 by week’s end as they play four games in the next five days – Tuesday at home against St. Helena, Wednesday at Healdsburg, Friday at Willits and Saturday at home against Piner.
In a key early season meeting between top JV teams, Middletown defeated Clear Lake 5-3 at Middletown. Middletown improved to 3-0 with the win while Clear Lake dropped to 2-1.
