EUREKA — The St. Bernard’s Crusaders shut out the Clear Lake Cardinals 13-0 in five innings Friday afternoon during first-round varsity baseball action at the St. Bernard’s Tournament in Eureka.
Clear Lake came back later Friday to beat South Fork 3-2 in the consolation semifinals as winning pitcher Maddox Albaum went the distance, allowing just one hit.
St. Bernard’s 13, Clear Lake 0
The Cardinals had just two hits, singles by Ethan Maize and Cody Hayes.
After a scoreless first inning, St. Bernard’s bats went to work. The Crusaders scored twice in the second inning before busting the game open with a six-run third. They added another run in the fourth and four more in the fifth.
Hank Ollenberger, the first of three Clear Lake pitchers, took the loss. He worked 2 2/3 innings, allowed seven runs, but only two earned, on six hits, struck out two and walked two.
Clear Lake batters struck out 13 times.
Clear Lake 3, South Fork 2
Clear Lake scored twice in the first inning and again in the second to take a 3-0 lead that Albaum made stand up as South Fork chipped away with runs in the third and sixth innings.
Though tiring late in the game, Albaum pleaded his case to remain on the mound and Clear Lake head coach Ed Pepper left him in.
“He dug down deep and shut them down to get us the win,” Pepper said of the senior, who also had one of Clear Lake’s four hits. “Maddox did everything he was supposed to do.”
Drake Smart went 2-for-3 for the Cardinals and Hayes went 1-for-3. Maize drove in one of Clear Lake’s runs.
After the long drive north to Eureka and facing a hard-throwing pitcher from St. Bernard’s in their first-round game, Clear Lake’s hitters had trouble adjusting to the slower offerings of the South Fork starter, according to Pepper.
“We went from going to facing a guy throwing in the high 90s to someone in the low 60s,” Pepper said.
In other tournament action:
Middletown 12, Fortuna 7
Arcata 13, Middletown 0
The Middletown Mustangs pounded out 16 hits, four of them by winning pitcher Luke Hoogendoorn, to beat an undefeated Fortuna team in an opening-round game at the St. Bernard’s Tournament, but lost 13-0 to Arcata in six innings in the winner’s semifinal round.
Middletown’s win over Fortuna was its first of the season and the first varsity victory for new head coach Tyler Holt.
“Yes, it was exciting, especially against a Fortuna team that’s a good ballclub,” Holt said.
Middletown jumped out to a 5-0 lead before Fortuna tied it with five runs in the top of the third, but the Mustangs kept on scoring. They pushed ahead to stay with four runs in the bottom of the third and added another run in the fourth and two more in the fifth to go up 12-5.
“They were hitting the ball really well,” Holt said of the Mustangs’ double-digit hit total.
Middletown’s biggest hit was a bases-loaded triple by Hunter Hartzog (2-for-4) in the third inning. Cole Ketchum added three hits while Jesse Young went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Zach Dubois went 2-for-2. Dubois reached base in all four of his plate appearances.
Hoogendoorn worked 6 1/3 innings for the victory, allowing 10 hits and all seven Fortuna runs (six earned). He struck two and walked three. Hartzog finished up.
In the 13-0 loss to Arcata, Middletown’s hot bats turned ice-cold as the Mustangs managed just two hits, singles by Ketchum and Micah Dymer.
The Mustangs (1-5) didn’t fare much better on the mound, allowing four home runs, including three solo shots in the top of the fourth.
“We just did not hit at all, I don’t know what happened,” Holt said.
All three Middletown batters struck out in the bottom of the first against what Holt called a pitcher with “mediocre velocity.”
The starter’s replacement threw even slower, but Middletown’s bats never warmed up.
Starter Bryan Riel, the first of four Middletown pitchers, took the loss. He went 3 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs (five earned) on eight hits, striking out three and walking one.
Riel had one of the hardest-hit balls for the Mustangs all day but a good play by the Arcata defense denied him a hit.
“Bryan had a tough day,” Holt said.
