MIDDLETOWN — Middletown’s Aidan Skinner provided most of the power on an outfielder-aided solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning that helped carry the Mustangs to a 4-2 victory over the Clear Lake Cardinals in a North Central League I pitcher’s duel on Tuesday afternoon at Wes Martin Field.
Skinner’s blast to straightaway center field bounced off the glove of outfielder Andrew Tramble and over the fence to break up a scoreless deadlock. Tramble was injured and had to leave the game after landing on a fence post while trying to make the catch.
“He made a nice athletic move just to get to the ball,” Middletown coach Jon Hoogendoorn said. “He almost had it.”
“It’s just the way our luck has been going this season,” Clear Lake assistant coach Ed Pepper said of yet another injury for the Cardinals. “We haven’t heard back yet if it’s a broken leg or a major sprain.”
Staked to a 1-0 lead, Middletown starting pitcher Jimmy Rockwell promptly gave up a run in the top of the sixth on a Chance Durnal RBI single before the Mustangs pushed ahead for good with a three-run bottom of the sixth that featured a tie-breaking RBI single by Will Aden followed later in the inning by a two-out, two-run double off the bat of Jon Hoogendoorn Jr.
Rockwell opened the seventh but gave up a leadoff hit and departed the mound with 13 strikeouts and in six-plus innings. Clear Lake picked up its final run in the seventh when Will Aden balked home a run. The Cardinals (0-2 league, 2-6 overall) had the potential tying runs on base when the game ended.
“They had their chances,” Hoogendoorn said of the Cardinals, who banged out 11 hits to Middletown’s five. “Rockwell pitched himself out of situations all game.”
“They had the big (timely) hits and we didn’t,” Pepper said.
A game that was originally scheduled for Lakeport but moved to Middletown because the Cardinals’ field is drenched from a wet winter, moved along quickly as Rockwell and his Clear Lake counterpart, Darius Ford, traded zeroes on the scoreboard for four and a half innings.
“Ford pitched his ass off,” Hoogendoorn said. “He’s not overpowering, but his off-speed stuff kept our kids off balance. He’s tough.”
“It was lights-out pitching on both sides,” Pepper added. “I think both ran out of a gas a little bit at the end.”
It was the league opener for Middletown (1-0, 6-4), which has already rescheduled one league game because of inclement weather.
“Clear Lake was nice enough to move the game down here, so we’ll go to their place next time,” Hoogendoorn said. “We got the game in and that’s all that matters.”
Preston Jones went 3-for-4 with a double for Clear Lake, Jaron Mertle went 3-for-4, and Blair Hayes went 2-for-3 with a double.
Clear Lake is scheduled to host Willits on Friday but may have to move the game to Willits for the same reason Tuesday’s game was played in Middletown. The Mustangs host the St. Helena Saints on Friday.
In other baseball action Tuesday:
Upper Lake 10, Tech 0 (5 inn.)
At Upper Lake, Benat Love pitched a second straight gem, following up a one-hitter on Friday against Tomales with a three-hitter Tuesday against the Tech Titans in NCL II action.
“He’s in a zone right, he’s pitching fantastic. I don’t know what else you can say,” Upper Lake coach Brian Milhaupt said of the senior’s latest five-inning complete game. “He’s kind of dominating. He’s doing a little bit of everything for us.”
Love also went 2-for-3 with a RBI as part of Upper Lake’s 14-hit attack.
The Cougars, who improved to 2-0 in league play and 3-3 overall, scored six times in the bottom of the fifth inning to bring an early end to the game. Armando Santos and Diego Velasco each had two-run singles in the fifth. Dalton Slater led the offense with a 3-for-4 effort while Love, Santos, Velasco, Desmond Mueller and Cody Banks added two hits apiece.
Upper Lake played error-free baseball behind Love, who threw only 65 pitches.
“I started three freshmen and all three contributed in the field,” Milhaupt said.
The Cougars hit the road Friday to play Sonoma Academy, one of the favorites to win the NCL II championships this season.
“It’ll be our chance to see where we’re at,” Milhaupt said. “I think we’re headed in the right direction.”
JV baseball
Clear Lake 4, Middletown 3 (10 inn.)
At Middletown, Clear Lake beat Middletown in 10 innings in the Mustangs’ league opener.
“We stranded people at third base like four innings in a row,” Middletown coach Chris Dubois said.
Zach Dubois went 2-for-4, scored a run and stole a base for Middletown (0-1, 4-3).
Clear Lake statistics were not reported.
Middletown hosts St. Helena on Friday.
