MIDDLETOWN — Will Aden homered twice, including a leadoff shot to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh, touching off a two-run Middletown uprising as the Mustangs rallied past the Kelseyville Knights 6-5 in a North Central League I varsity baseball thriller on Tuesday afternoon at Wes Martin Field in Middletown.
After Aden homered, Isaac Perez was hit by a pitch, Aiden Skinner (3-for-3) reached on an infield single with a throwing error on the play moving the runners to second and third, and Tyler Crudo lined a single up the middle to win it.
Tyler Linnell’s two-run home run in the top of the fifth wiped out a 4-3 Middletown lead and put the Knights (9-5 league, 13-9 overall) in front until the Mustangs came back to win it in the seventh against reliever Steven Sprague, who gave up the homer to Aden and hit Perez. Jeremy Brown replaced Sprague at that point and pitched to Skinner and Crudo.
Aden’s other solo home run, that in the bottom of the fourth, tied the game at 3-3. Drake Harbison’s RBI single later in the inning made it 4-3 in the Mustangs’ favor.
The Mustangs overcame the loss of starting catcher Jon Hoogendoorn Jr., who is the son of head coach Jon Hoogendoorn. Batting with a full count and the bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the fourth, Hoogendoorn Jr. took a called third strike, spun around while reacting to the umpire’s call and had his helmet come off.
“He almost jumped into a squat,” Hoogendoorn said. “I can only assume they though he spiked the helmet himself but it wasn’t even close … he knocked if off with his bat. It was a terrible call.”
Hoogendoorn ended up restricted to the dugout for the remainder of the game, which is a step short of ejection for a coach.
“Can you believe that?” he said. “They restricted me for their horrible call.”
Aden has three home runs in his last two games and a team-leading five on the season. His shot in the seventh cleared the bleachers on the adjoining football field (Bill Foltmer Field).
“I think it landed on the football field,” Hoogendoorn said. “You could see the look on his face when he came to bat. He was determined and he’s swinging a hot bat right now.”
Aden finished 3-for-3 with a walk and also scored three times. Skinner also went 3-for-3 for the Mustangs, who pounded out 10 hits.
Neither starting pitcher — Middletown’s Jimmy Rockwell and Kelseyville’s Linnell — figured in the decision. While Sprague took the loss, Aden worked scoreless sixth and seventh innings for the victory, allowing one hit, striking out three and walking one.
“I thought we played really hard and Middletown played really hard,” Kelseyville coach Lou Poloni said. “It was a good and exciting baseball game.”
It was the second one-run game between these two teams this season. Kelseyville scored twice in the bottom of the sixth to defeat Middletown 4-3 on April 12 in Kelseyville.
All of Kelseyville’s runs scored with two outs. Linnell finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Besides the two-run homer, he had a RBI single as part of the Knights’ two-run top of the first. Middletown scored its first run in the bottom of the second and both teams added a run in the third to make it 3-2.
Kelseyville shortstop Adrian Villalobos, who was questionable for the game after colliding with a teammate during a 5-2 nine-inning loss to Fort Bragg on Friday, started and played all seven innings. He went 1-for-3 with a double. Nathan Phillips (1-for-3) also drove in a run for the Knights.
While Kelseyville has completed its NCL I and regular-season schedule, the Mustangs (10-3, 15-7) still have one important league game remaining on Thursday against Fort Bragg (12-1), which clinched the outright championship Tuesday with a 6-1 road victory against Clear Lake.
Even though the league race is decided, the outcome of the game could affect the seeding of both teams for next week’s North Coast Section Division IV playoffs. The at-large and seeding meeting takes place Sunday and Middletown, St. Helena (10-4) and Kelseyville are all likely to receive at-large berths.
“We’re not intimidated by them,” Hoogendoorn said of the Timberwolves, who were the last team to beat Middletown, 4-1, on April 16 in Fort Bragg. The Mustangs have won six in a row since then.
“It’s the perfect tuneup game for the playoffs, but it doesn’t mean a whole lot,” he added.
In other baseball action Tuesday:
Fort Bragg 6, Clear Lake 1
At Lakeport, the Fort Bragg Timberwolves clinched the outright league championship with a victory over the Clear Lake Cardinals.
Fort Bragg (12-1) needed a win over Clear Lake (3-10, 5-14) or a Middletown loss to Kelseyville to secure the title and the Timberwolves took care of business themselves. They still have one league game remaining as do the Cardinals. Both teams finish up Thursday – Fort Bragg at Middletown and Clear Lake home against Willits.
Clear Lake statistics were not reported.
Cloverdale 12, Lower Lake 1
At Cloverdale, the Cloverdale Eagles finished 7-7 in league play with a five-inning victory over the Lower Lake Trojans, who closed out the season 3-11 in league and 5-12 overall.
Lower Lake statistics were not reported.
Upper Lake 15, Rincon Valley 5
At Santa Rosa, the Upper Lake Cougars made their last meeting with Rincon Valley Christian, which is shutting its doors forever in a few weeks, a successful one as they pounded out 21 hits in NCL II action.
At 7-6 in league play and 8-9 overall, the Cougars close out their league and regular-season schedule with a road game Thursday against Calistoga.
“If we win I’m going to apply for a playoff berth,” Upper Lake coach Brian Milhaupt said with an eye toward the Division V sectional playoffs, which begin next week. The at-large and seeding meeting is Sunday.
Upper Lake beat Calistoga 6-2 on April 16 in Upper Lake. Milhaupt said he is hopeful the Cougars can finish their league schedule with another victory.
“It’s one of the best seasons we’ve had a in a few years,” Milhaupt said. “We’d like to play at least one more game after that.”
While Upper Lake ended up winning comfortably against Rincon Valley Christian, the Cougars trailed 5-4 after three innings. They moved in front to stay with a three-run fourth and kept adding to their lead the rest of the way – one run in the fifth, three in the sixth and four in the seventh.
After Bradley Sneathen worked the first two innings on the mound and left the game trailing 5-4, Benat Love blanked the Eagles on one hit over the final five innings to notch the victory. He struck out five and walked only one.
Love, Diego Velasco, Dalton Slater, Desmond Mueller and Blaine Rhoades had three hits apiece for the Cougars. Rhodes doubled and tripled while Velasco also tripled. Slater and Armando Santos (2-for-4, double) had two RBIs apiece.
JV baseball
Middletown 13, Kelseyville 8
At Middletown, Luke Hoogendoorn went 3-for-3 and Nick Conover went 2-for-3 with three RBIs as the Middletown junior varsity team beat the Kelseyville Knights in NCL I action.
Middletown improved to 8-4 in league play and 13-6 overall with one game remaining, that on Thursday at home against league leader Fort Bragg.
Zach Dubois pitched three innings for the win, allowing one hit and striking out two. He also went 1-for-1, stole a base and scored three times.
