MIDDLETOWN — Zach Dubois moved around the bases on three wild pitches to score what proved to be the winning run in Middletown’s 7-6 victory over the previously undefeated St. Helena Saints in a North Central League I varsity baseball battle for first place Friday afternoon at Wes Martin Field.
Middletown (6-1 league, 7-9 overall) reaches the midway point of the NCL I race in sole possession of first place, a half-game ahead of St. Helena (5-1), which is scheduled to play a doubleheader Friday in Fort Bragg against the Timberwolves (3-3) if the weather permits.
“They didn’t throw their ace, but we’re confident we can beat them if they do,” Middletown head coach Tyler Holt said. “They’re beatable … we proved that today. As long as we play our game we can stay right where we are.”
Noah Williams went the distance for Middletown, which capped a big week with an 11-6 road victory Tuesday at Fort Bragg and the home win against St. Helena.
“He pitched great,” Holt said of Williams. “He threw the right pitches at the right times.”
Williams survived a scary top of the seventh. St. Helena’s leadoff hitter reached on an error — the eighth error of the game by the Mustangs — and a Williams walk put runners at first and second. The next batter hit a soft line drive to Bryan Riel at third base. He gloved the liner for the out and doubled off the runner at second. The game ended on a grounder that led to a force play at second base.
“It was an intense game,” Holt said. “It was back and forth the whole way.”
St. Helena parlayed five Middletown errors in the top of the first inning into a 3-0 lead. Middletown rallied for a 4-3 lead with three runs in the second and another in the third. The Saints jumped back in front 5-4 with two runs in the top of the fourth only to watch the Mustangs regain the lead with two runs in the bottom half. St. Helena scored once in the top of the fifth to tie it at 6-6.
Aiden de Jong was hit by a pitch leading off the Middletown sixth but was forced at second base by Dubois, who advanced to second, then third and finally home on three St. Helena wild pitches.
Williams allowed only three hits and one earned run while striking out four and walking three. He gave the Mustangs their second complete game of the week after Luke Hoogendoorn went the distance on Tuesday at Fort Bragg.
“We had solid pitching all week,” Holt said.
Cole Ketchum went 2-for-4 with a double and a RBI for the Mustangs while Hunter Hartzog went 1-for-3 with two RBIs. Spending a lot of time on the basepaths without benefit of a hit were Jesse Young, who walked four times, and de Jong, who walked three times and was hit by a pitch.
Middletown opens the second half of league play Tuesday at home against Lower Lake.
In other baseball action Friday:
Kelseyville 16, Lower Lake 0 (5 inn.)
At Lower Lake, Jon Dougherty allowed only one hit — a second-inning double — and faced just one batter over the minimum as the Kelseyville Knights shut out the Lower Lake Trojans in a five-inning game.
Dougherty struck out four and walked none as the Knights completed the first half of league play at 5-2 and 7-9 overall. The double he allowed went for naught as the Lower Lake player was thrown out at third base trying for a triple. The Trojans’ only other baserunner during the gam reached on a Kelseyville error.
The Knights staked Dougherty to a 2-0 lead before he had thrown his first pitch. In fact, the Knights score in every inning, added two more runs in the second, four in the third, two in the fourth and six in the fifth.
“We got on them early and kept the pressure on,” Kelseyville head coach Billy Shaul said. “We did what we needed to do.”
In addition to banging out 11 hits, 10 of them singles, the Knights drew a total of 12 walks from three Lower Lake pitchers. Tyler Bryant, a freshman, went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBIs to lead Kelseyville at the plate and Brock Barrick, another freshman, went 2-for-2 with two RBIs. Jake Burke (1-for-2) also knocked in two runs.
Lower Lake is now 0-6 in league and 1-7 overall.
Kelseyville opens the second half of its league schedule Tuesday in Cloverdale while Lower Lake visits Middletown.
Clear Lake 5, Fort Bragg 4
At Lakeport, don’t shovel dirt onto Clear Lake’s season just yet. While it was a tough first half for the Cardinals in league play, they closed it out with a victory over the Fort Bragg Timberwolves (3-3), who dropped their third in a row after a 3-0 start.
Maddox Albaum pitched six strong innings for the victory and departed the mound with a 5-1 lead. Drake Smart allowed three runs in the top of the seventh.
Clear Lake (2-5, 5-8) scored single runs in the first and third innings to open up a 2-0 lead. Fort Bragg’s only run against Albaum came in the fourth. The Cardinals went up 5-1 in the sixth.
Ethan Maize went 2-for-4 with a RBI for Clear Lake, which made only one error in the field.
The Cardinals host Willits on Tuesday and visit Kelseyville on Friday.
