Mustangs win 7-3, go to 3-0
Rockwell logs victory, fans 11 in 4 innings
LA G COUNTY >> It was a case of three up and three down for the Middletown High School varsity baseball team nearly a year ago today during a non-league home game against the El Molino Lions at Wes Martin Field.
Until the COVID-19-delayed 2020-21 sports season starts, the Lake County Record-Bee will take a look back at the local sports happenings of a year ago and the teams and athletes who were making the headlines.
Middletown beat El Molino 7-3 to win its third game in as many tries. Winning pitcher Jimmy Rockwell didn’t allow an earned run during his four innings on the mound and surrendered only two hits while striking out 11
and walking four. The senior struck out the side in the first, third and fourth innings.
“He’s still recovering from a knee injury he suffered last summer,” Middletown head coach Jon Hoogendoorn said. “He’s not even throwing his best stuff right now.”
Middletown scored three times in the bottom of the third inning to snap a 2-all tie. The Mustangs added two insurance runs in the sixth for a 7-2 lead.
Isaac Perez went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and scored twice as the Mustangs beat their third big school in a row, following victories over Piner and Santa Rosa in their first two games of the 2020 season. Rockwell helped his own cause by going 2-for-4 with a RBI and Will Aden went 1-for-3 with a RBI triple.
“For the most part it’s hard to complain when you’re beating bigger schools,” Hoogendoorn said. “We still have a lot of things we can iron out.”
Aidan Skinner worked the final three innings in relief of Rockwell and was nicked for a run in the top of the seventh. He struck out three and walked one.
Middletown also won the junior varsity game, 28-5 in five innings. Cole Ketchum went 4-for-6 with two RBIs, three runs scored and two stolen bases as the JV Mustangs improved to 3-1. Eli Diaz went 3-for-3 with a triple, two RBIs and two runs, and Nathan Corsetti went 3-for-5 with five RBIs and two runs.
Winning pitcher Bryan Riel worked 2 1/3 innings, allowing one hit, no runs, striking out two and walking none.