MIDDLETOWN >> Three innings into Tuesday’s North Central League I varsity baseball contest against the Cloverdale Eagles, the Middletown Mustangs were on the wrong end of a 3-0 score and hadn’t put a single runner on base. One inning later that perfect game in the making was a distant memory.
Middletown not only scored 11 runs in the bottom of the fourth, but the Mustangs scored 11 runs before a single out had been recorded in the inning. They went on to beat the Eagles 13-3 in five innings, their second home victory in a row after a long dry spell to open the season at Wes Martin Field.
The Mustangs (5-2, 6-11) sent 14 batters to the plate in the bottom of the fourth and had six of their 10 hits in that inning alone. They also benefited from five Cloverdale errors.
Thomas Cook, working in relief of starter Trevor LaFave, picked up the victory with 3 2/3 innings of shutout relief. He allowed two hits, struck out two and walked none.
Joe Zell went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, Luke Holt went 2-for-3 with a RBI and Isaiah Moore went 2-for-4 with a RBI.
Middletown plays at Lower Lake (2-4) on Friday at 4 p.m. and the same two teams meet again Saturday in Middletown at noon, a makeup of a game rained out earlier this season.
In other baseball action Tuesday:
Kelseyville 7, Lower Lake 1
At Kelseyville, the Kelseyville Knights made the most of their scoring chances while beating the Lower Lake Trojans in NCL I action.
Kelseyville (8-0, 16-1-1) hit with runners in scoring position all game, including four sacrifice fly balls, two of them off the bat of Jonah Lewis.
“We swang the bat pretty well,” Kelseyville coach Lou Poloni said of the Knights’ 22nd consecutive league victory dating back to last season.
Kelseyville starting pitcher Jason Gentle, whose last start was March 18, worked 5 2/3 effective innings for the victory, striking out six and walking two.
“Gentle threw a ton of strikes,” Poloni said. “He was cruising but we decided to pull him after 74 pitches so that we could use him if needed on Friday against Clear Lake.”
Sophomore Jacob Beck pitched the final 1 1/3 innings.
Lower Lake starter Bobby Cruz was roughed up for four runs in one-third of an inning. “He wasn’t quite on and there was no reason to keep him in there,” Lower Lake coach Jim Peters said. “We can start him against Middletown on Friday now.”
Lower Lake scored an unearned run in the top of the first inning to take the lead only to watch Kelseyville come right back with four runs in the bottom half. The Knights added to their lead with two runs in the fourth and one in the sixth while amassing 12 hits to Lower Lake’s three.
“We just didn’t have enough base hits,” Peters said.
Gentle, Randy Pfann and Adrian Villalobos had two hits apiece for the Knights. Kyle Ellis went 1-for-1 with a RBI double and sacrifice fly.
Lower Lake reliever Eric Graves worked the final 5 2/3 innings for the Trojans (2-4, 8-5).
The Trojans did receive some good news before Tuesday’s game as they were informed by the North Coast Section office that St. Helena’s 9-8 win against them on April 18 was being forfeited because the Saints broke a rule by taking batting practice less than two hours before the start of the game.
“That’s a new rule that was put in this year,” Peters said. “St. Helena was the team that pushed for it.”
Clear Lake 6, Willits 0
At Lakeport, Ryan Damiata scattered six hits, struck out seven and walked none as the Clear Lake Cardinals improved to 4-3 in league play by shutting out the Willits Wolverines.
“He was very effective,” Clear Lake assistant coach John Garrison said of the senior. “He was in control the entire game. There never was a time when they were threatening.”
Willits advanced a runner to third base only once in the game.
Clear Lake scored three times in the bottom of the first on a run-scoring error, an Alex Adams RBI single and a Cody Rybolt sacrifice fly. Max De Leon’s two-run single in the third made it a 5-0 game and Cody Dillsaver’s RBI groundout in the sixth gave the Cardinals another insurance run.
De Leon finished the game 3-for-4 with a triple and Adams also went 3-for-4.
Clear Lake hosts undefeated Kelseyville (8-0) on Friday when it will be a battle of aces — Clear Lake’s Rybolt against Kelseyville’s Logan Barrick.
“We’re going to have our hands full, we know that, but we’re also looking forward to it,” Garrison said.
Upper Lake 6, Tomales 3
At Upper Lake, Desmond Mueller went 2-for-2 and walked twice and Dre Sanots went 1-for-2 with a double, three walks and four stolen bases as the red-hot Upper Lake Cougars won their third straight NCL II game by beating the Tomales Braves.
Upper Lake is 3-1 in league and 9-4 overall.
Even without a handful of regulars in the starting lineup, the Cougars had more than enough to beat the Braves. Upper Lake scored single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth to snap a 3-3 tie after one inning.
Winning pitcher Armando Santos worked four innings for the victory, striking out six and walking six. Francisco Flores relieved and recorded the save with three scoreless innings. He struck out six and walked none.
Carson Whitfield (1-for-2), Andrew Brackett (1-for-2) and Flores all drove in runs for Upper Lake.
Upper Lake hits the road Friday to play St. Vincent.
JV baseball
Middletown 10, Cloverdale 0
At Middletown, Jack Sisson hit a two-run, inside-the-park home run in the fourth inning to help the Middletown Mustangs beat the Cloverdale Eagles and remain perfect on the season at 7-0 in NCL I play and 14-0 overall.
Isaac Perez and Aidan Skinner combined on a one-hit shutout in the six-inning game. Perez worked the first three innings for the win, allowed the only Cloverdale hit, struck out six and walked none. Skinner struck out four and walked none over the final three innings.
Jaden Trueblood went 1-for-2 with a RBI and scored three times. Drake Harbison added a double and Cameron Luis went 1-for-3 with two RBIs.
Middletown plays a non-league game Wednesday in Healdsburg before returning home Friday to take on Lower Lake at 4 p.m.
Lower Lake 8, Kelseyville 7
At Lower Lake, Gavin Watson’s two-out RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning scored Jacob Billings from third base as the Lower Lake Trojans walked off with a victory against the Kelseyville Knights.
Watson went 2-for-3 as the Trojans improved to 3-3 in league play and 5-8 overall.
Winning pitcher Guy Boyd, working in relief of starter Mike Taliaferro, went two innings, struck out three and walked one. Taliaferro struck out three and walked three during his five innings on the mound.
Clear Lake 19, Willits 2
At Willits, winning pitcher Blair Hayes worked 4 2/3 innings for the victory and also went 3-for-5 with three RBIs as the Clear Lake Cardinals routed the Willits Wolverines in NCL I action.
The game was called after five innings because of the 10-run rule.
Clear Lake (4-3, 4-5) broke the game wide open with a nine-run fifth inning.
Jaron Mertle went 2-for-3 for the Cardinals. Tyler Tucker, Darius Ford, Abe Ojeda, Julian Perez, Bo Daskam, Josh Damiata and Andrew Tramble all had one hit and at least one RBI apiece for Clear Lake.
