Baseball Recap: Middletown Wins Going Away Against Upper Lake

After having lost a blowout in their previous game against St. Helena, Middletown was happy to have turned things around on Friday. Everything went their way against the Upper Lake Cougars as they made off with a 14-8 win. The victory continues a trend for the Mustangs in their matchups with the Cougars: they've now won five in a row.

Cody Perez

Hits (Career)

05/09/25 @ Upper Lake	4
04/04/25 vs Lower Lake	2
03/26/25 @ Willits	2
05/06/25 vs St. Helena	1
04/15/25 vs Upper Lake	1

Cody Perez and Hayden Xavier were major factors no matter where they played. Throwing, Perez tossed four innings while giving up just one earned (and four unearned) runs off six hits. Meanwhile, Xavier tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off three hits. Middletown is 3-1 when Perez allows two or fewer earned runs, but 2-13-1 otherwise. At bat, Perez went 4-for-5 with three runs, two doubles, and one stolen base, while Xavier went 3-for-4 with one run. Those four hits gave Perez a new career-high.

In other batting news, Middletown let Jon Hawkins and John Finney run wild. 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 is becoming a predictor of Middletown's success: when he posts at least two stolen bases the team is 3-1 (and 2-13-1 when he doesn't). 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.

Middletown kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 16 hits. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 5.1 hits per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 contests they've averaged 9.

Middletown's win bumped their record up to 5-14-1. As for Upper Lake, they are on a 14-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 3-16.

Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Middletown will head out to challenge Clear Lake at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The Cardinals' pitching crew has only allowed 3.7 runs per game this season, so the Mustangs' hitters will have their work cut out for them. As for Upper Lake, they will challenge St. Helena at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The Saints will roll in looking for their fourth straight victory, something the Cougars surely won't give up without a fight.