FORT BRAGG — Will Aden smashed his ninth home run of the season, but the Middletown Mustangs couldn’t overcome a series of throwing errors during a three-run Fort Bragg fifth inning and fell 5-3 to the host Timberwolves in a battle for first place atop the North Central League I varsity baseball standings.
The stakes couldn’t have been much higher for the two teams going into the Tuesday afternoon game. Both entered play 9-3 and the winner was guaranteed no worse than a share of the league title.
Fort Bragg (10-3) now travels to Clear Lake (6-7) on Friday needing a win to clinch the undisputed league crown. If the Timberwolves stumble, they’ll end up as co-champions along with the winner of Friday’s season finale between Middletown (9-4) and St. Helena (9-4) at Wes Martin Field in Middletown.
St. Helena defeated Kelseyville 5-4 in eight innings on Tuesday night in St. Helena.
“It’s the little stuff that bit us in the ass (today),” Middletown head coach Jon Hoogendoorn said of a tough loss that snapped Middletown’s five-game league winning streak.
Middletown took a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the fifth. After the Timberwolves scored a run in the bottom of the first against losing pitcher Dax Green, the Mustangs pushed ahead with a two-run top of the third. Tanner Pachie doubled home Middletown’s first run and later scored on a Tyler Crudo (2-for-3) single.
Middletown’s 2-1 lead held up until the fifth inning when Fort Bragg capitalized on three Mustangs throwing errors to push in front 4-2.
“There’s not a whole lot you can do when you throw the ball around like that,” Hoogendoorn said.
Aden’s solo shot to left-center field in the top of the sixth cut Fort Bragg’s led to 4-3. The Middletown senior is now tied with former Middletown star Chris Emberson for the second-most home runs hit in a single season by a Lake County player. The record of 11 is held by Kelseyville’s Ray Silva (2002). Emberson hit nine home runs in 2001 and eight more in 2002.
Fort Bragg answered Aden’s home run with a run of its own in the bottom of the sixth to make it 5-3.
Green worked all six innings, allowing one earned run and six hits while striking out two and walking one.
“He was cruising, pitching real well,” Hoogendoorn said of Green’s first four innings.
Crudo (2-for-3) was the only Middletown player with more than one hit.
The Mustangs beat the Timberwolves 5-1 in their first league meeting April 23 at Wes Martin Field in Middletown.
