ARCATA — Middletown couldn’t hold a 12-2 lead and eventually fell 17-16 in eight innings to St. Bernard’s of Eureka in the final round of the Arcata Softball Tournament on Saturday afternoon.
An ankle injury that forced Middletown starting catcher Jaidyn Brown out of the game in the bottom of the fifth forced the Mustangs (1-3) to shuffle their lineup and St. Bernard’s came storming back to tie the game at 13-all after seven complete innings.
Middletown pushed ahead 16-13 in the top of the eighth only to watch St. Bernard’s rally with four runs in the bottom of the eighth to win it.
The loss went to reliever Shaylyn Sims, who relieved starter Emma Hansen with two outs in the sixth inning.
Hansen went 4-for-6 with a double and four RBIs to power the Mustangs at the plate. Brown added three hits, including a triple and three RBIs while Gracie Wagner went 3-for-6 with a double and a RBI and Lia Crudo went 3-for-5 with a double and three RBIs. Mel Gerst went 1-for-2 with a double, her first varsity hit.
Also on Saturday, Middletown dropped a 3-0 decision to Fortuna, a game in which Hansen went the distance, tossing a two-hitter, striking out eight and walking two.
Middletown had only two hits, singles by Brown and Wagner.
Friday
Middletown opened tournament play Friday with an 11-3 loss to Arcata. Wagner went 3-for-3 with a double and a RBI while Hansen added two hits. Carina Fleenor went 1-for-2 and drove in Middletown’s other two runs.
Hansen worked the first five innings, allowing all 11 Arcata runs while striking out six and walking three. Sims pitched a scoreless sixth inning in her varsity pitching debut. She struck out two and walked none.
Schedule
Middletown hits the road Tuesday to play Justin-Siena of Napa at 4 p.m.
