MIDDLETOWN >> No. 13 seed St. Patrick/St. Vincent of Vallejo scored its second straight upset in the North Coast Section Division IV baseball playoffs on Friday, upending the fifth-seeded Middletown Mustangs 12-2 in five innings at Wes Martin Field in Middletown.
St. Patrick/St. Vincent (16-4-1) stunned No. 4 seed Fortuna 5-2 in an opening-round game on Tuesday. The Bruins draw No. 1 seed St. Mary’s next week in the semifinals.
St. Patrick/St. Vincent’s team speed was a problem for Middletown (13-13) all day and three different Mustangs pitchers couldn’t keep the Bruins off the bases. Starting and losing pitcher Thomas Cook lasted just three innings and allowed six runs on eight hits with two walks and no strikeouts. Luke Holt and Jack Sisson followed Cook to the mound.
St. Patrick/St. Vincent scored in every inning while Middletown stranded runners in scoring position in every inning except the fifth, which is the only time the Mustangs went down in order.
The Bruins took an 11-0 lead into the bottom of the fourth when Middletown tried to get back into the game. Cameron Ketchum led off the inning with a single and Sisson followed with a two-run home run. The Mustangs went on to load the bases with two outs. That’s when Isaiah Moore, who already had a triple in the game, hit a deep drive that the St. Patrick/St. Vincent center fielder caught with his back pressed up against the fence.
Trevor LaFave went 2-for-2 for and Ty Chorjel had a double for Middletown’s other hits.
While the Bruins’ ran the bases well in their second straight playoff victory, the same couldn’t be said for the Mustangs, who had two baserunners caught in rundowns on the same play in the bottom of the third inning, turning a potential rally into more frustration for a team that entered play a winner of 13 of its last 16.
The playoff loss capped a weird season for Middletown and first-year coach Jeff Mielke. The Mustangs lost their first nine games before roaring back to finish second behind Kelseyville in the North Central League I standings. Their solid play continued with a come-from-behind 7-6 win over Swett High School of Crockett on Wednesday in the opening round of the playoffs.
