MIDDLETOWN — A 5-4 victory over the Lick-Wilmerding Tigers of San Francisco on Tuesday afternoon gives the Middletown High School varsity baseball team a 5-4 record heading into its all-important North Central League I opener on Friday at home against the Fort Bragg Timberwolves.
Middletown, the defending NCL I champion, rallied from a 4-3 deficit in its final tuneup for league play.
“They’ve been beating a lot of teams,” Middletown coach Jon Hoogendoorn said of the Tigers (5-4), who had won five of six before Tuesday. “They threw their No. 1.”
Middletown grabbed a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning, plating two runs on Tyler Crudo’s single and getting another on a bases-loaded walk to Nico Barrio, but Lick-Wilmerding scored the game’s next four runs, getting one in the third and three in the fourth against Mustangs starter Keegan Cutting for a 4-3 lead. Middletown tied the score in the bottom half of the fifth on a Crudo fielder’s choice and an error on the play that allowed Cutting (2-for-3), who doubled leading off the inning, to score.
The Mustangs pushed ahead for good in the sixth. Drake Harbison doubled with two outs, stole third and continued home when the catcher’s throw sailed into left field for an error.
Will Aden, working in relief of starter Cutting, pitched a one-two-three sixth. His seventh inning contained a bit more excitement as Lick-Wilmerding’s leadoff batter tripled. Aden then wiggled out of the jam, getting a grounder to shortstop Aidan Skinner, who looked the runner back before throwing on to first base for the out, a popup to Skinner, who ran down the ball in shallow left field, and another grounder to Skinner, who made a clean throw for the final out of the game.
“We struggled a little with the bats but did just enough,” Hoogendoorn said.
Two bright spots at the plate of late have been Jon Hoogendoorn Jr., who has eight hits in his last 14 bats, according to his dad and coach, and Cutting, who has five hits in his last nine at-bats.
Middletown is down two starters because of injuries — Cameron Luis could return as soon as Friday while All-Leaguer Jack Bliss is out for the season — so the contributions from Hoogendoorn Jr. and Cutting have been a big boost for the Mustangs.
“Those injuries made us younger and the guys are starting to gel a lot better right now,” Hoogendoorn said.
Lick-Wilmerding used a pretty severe outfield shift against Middletown, with the left fielder playing well off the line into left-center.
“They took away three doubles from us,” Hoogendoorn said.
Looking ahead to Fort Bragg, the Mustangs are eager to begin their league title defense, according to Hoogendoorn.
“We couldn’t be more excited,” he said.
Wet weather may spoil the party, however, as rain is in the forecast.
Middletown also hits the road Tuesday to play Clear Lake.
In other varsity baseball action Tuesday:
Upper Lake 11, Tomales 1
At Upper Lake, the Upper Lake Cougars improved to 2-3 on the season with a victory over the Tomales Braves.
No other results were reported.
The Cougars are scheduled to play Calistoga on the road Friday at 4 p.m.
