The Clear Lake Cardinals will face off against the Middletown Mustangs at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams are strolling into their games after big wins in their previous games.
Clear Lake is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They never let Lower Lake get on the board and left with a 15-0 victory on Friday. With that win, the Cardinals brought their scoring average up to 6.3 runs per game.
Adam Bruch JR
| 05/09/25 @ Lower Lake | 3 |
| 05/06/25 vs Kelseyville | 2 |
| 04/25/25 vs Upper Lake | 2 |
| 03/08/25 vs Del Norte | 2 |
| 05/02/25 @ Cloverdale | 1 |
Adam Bruch JR was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out eight over five innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, three runs, and one double. Those three runs gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, Clear Lake got a massive performance out of Johnny Gonzales Jr, who went 3-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and one stolen base. Another player making a difference was Ezekiel Lopez, who went 1-for-2 with one home run and three RBI.
Clear Lake kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in nine consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Middletown had to endure a six-game losing streak, but that streak is no more. They were the clear victors by a 14-8 margin over Upper Lake on Friday. The Mustangs not only won on Friday, but they posted their biggest win since April 4th (when they won 8-1).
Like Clear Lake, Middletown also got a great game from a two-way player: Cody Perez. On the mound, Perez tossed four innings while giving up just one earned (and four unearned) runs off six hits. Meanwhile, Hayden Xavier tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. Perez is becoming a predictor of Middletown's success: when he allows at most two earned runs the team is 3-1 (and 2-13-1 when he doesn't). At the plate, Perez went 4-for-5 with three runs, two doubles, and one stolen base, while Xavier went 3-for-4 with one run.
In other batting news, Jon Hawkins and John Finney did most of the damage at the plate: Hawkins got on base in five of his six plate appearances with two stolen bases, three runs, and three RBI, while Finney went 3-for-5 with two stolen bases, three RBI, and two runs. Hawkins has become a key player for Middletown: the team is 3-1 when he posts at least two stolen bases, but 2-13-1 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Cody De Jong, who went 1-for-4 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.
Clear Lake has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 14-5 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.0 runs over those games. As for Middletown, their win bumped their record up to 5-14-1.
Middletown's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Clear Lake hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .379. It's a different story for Middletown, though, as they've only averaged .247. Will they be able to contain Clear Lake's hitters?
Everything went Clear Lake's way against Middletown in their previous matchup back in April, as Clear Lake made off with an 11-1 victory. Do the Cardinals have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Mustangs turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
