The Middletown Mustangs will head out on the road to square off against the Clear Lake Cardinals at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Having struggled with six losses in a row, Middletown turned things around against Upper Lake on Friday. They were the clear victors by a 14-8 margin over the Cougars. The Mustangs not only won on Friday, but they posted their biggest win since April 4th (when they won 8-1).
Cody Perez
| 05/09/25 @ Upper Lake | 3 |
| 05/06/25 vs St. Helena | 1 |
| 04/22/25 vs Cloverdale | 1 |
| 04/15/25 vs Upper Lake | 1 |
| 04/04/25 vs Lower Lake | 1 |
Cody Perez and Hayden Xavier were major factors while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Perez pitched four innings while giving up just one earned (and four unearned) runs off six hits. Meanwhile, Xavier pitched 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 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. Those three runs 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. That's the most stolen bases Finney has posted since back in March. The team also got some help courtesy of Austin Davis, who got on base in three of his five plate appearances with two runs.
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 games they've averaged 9.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Clear Lake). Their pitcher stepped up to hand Lower Lake a 15-0 shutout on Friday. Considering the Cardinals have won seven contests by more than five runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Adam Bruch JR made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, 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: 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. That double was his first of the season.
In other batting news, Johnny Gonzales Jr was a standout: he went 3-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and one stolen base. Jacob Horne also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
The victory (which was Clear Lake's third in a row) raised their record to 14-5. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.3 runs on average over those games. As for Middletown, their record now sits at 5-14-1.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Tuesday as neither team is afraid to steal. Middletown has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Clear Lake struggles in that department as they've been averaging 5.9 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Middletown suffered a grim 11-1 defeat to Clear Lake when the teams last played back in April. Can the Mustangs avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
