Upper Lake had lost 15 straight on the road dating back to last season, but on Friday they dropped down to 2-9 to make it 16. They fell just short of the Middletown Mustangs by a score of 6-4. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Mustangs this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 21-2 on Tuesday.
As for Middletown, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 7-4 record this season. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 1-9 Kelseyville and 2-9 Upper Lake (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 16.6% over those games).
For Middletown's part, Hayden Xavier made a big impact no matter where he played. He struck out six batters over three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Those six strikeouts gave Xavier a new career-high. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base. Middletown is undefeated when Xavier posts two or more runs, but 1-4 otherwise.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Jon Hawkins, who went 2-for-4 with one home run.
We've got plenty of inter-league action coming up soon. Upper Lake will challenge rival Kelseyville at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Middletown is set to square off against their familiar foe Fort Bragg at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
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