HEALDSBURG — Emma Hansen pitched a two-hitter and struck out 12 Monday afternoon as the Middletown Mustangs opened the 2022 softball season with a 15-0 victory over the Healdsburg Greyhounds at Healdsburg.
The non-league game was stopped after five innings because of the 10-run rule.
“Her pitching performance was nice to see, she’s starting out strong and being consistent,” Middletown head coach Bob Gunion said.
With only five full practices under their belts this season, the Mustangs (1-0) turned in a solid first effort, according to Gunion.
“We had all of last week off (President’s Day break) and it’s been hard to schedule games because of COVID, so you take them where you can,” Gunion said. “Our practices have been minimal, so it was nice to see everybody communicating and gelling out there.”
Middletown’s defense had to record only three outs as Hansen took care of the rest with her 12 strikeouts. She received plenty of support from her new battery mate, junior catcher Jaidyn Brown.
“She did a great job blocking the ball and being consistent back there,” Gunion said of Brown, who only recently joined the team after Middletown’s participation in the girls basketball playoffs. “She only had a little time to get ready.”
Brown also had two of the Mustangs’ 10 hits, including a triple and two RBIs. Gracie Wagner went 3-for-4 to lead the offense, Harper Moreno went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs, and Tori Tacla went 1-for-3 with a double and two RBIs.
Middletown scored in every inning, including a five-run top of the second and a four-run top of the third.
Hansen didn’t allow a Healdsburg runner past second base. The Greyhounds had six baserunners in all — two reaching on hits, two by walks and two on errors.
Middletown is off until the Arcata Tournament on March 11-12. The Mustangs play three games in two days against opponents Arcata, Fortuna and St. Bernard’s.
