CARDS WALK OFF WITH 5-4 VICTORY
Albaum delivers bases-loaded double in seventh to beat Willits; Cougars edge Technology 6-5
LAKEPORT >> Maddox Albaum wasn't having a very good day at the plate Tuesday afternoon as the Clear Lake Cardinals entered the bottom of the seventh inning trailing the Willits Wolverines 4-3 in a North Central League I varsity baseball game at Lakeport.
One swing of the bat changed all of that.
Albaum lined a fastball thrown down the middle of the plate into right field with the bases loaded and no outs to score the tying and winning runs in a 5-4 walk-off victory over the Wolverines.
“If we could start games off like we're finishing them, we'd kill people,” Clear Lake head coach Ed Pepper of the Cardinals' second straight 5-4 league win — they beat Fort Bragg by the same score on Friday in Lakeport.
Clear Lake's two-game winning streak is its first since beating Credo twice to open the season. The Cardinals are now 3-5 in league play and 6-8 overall.
Until Albaum doubled down the line in the seventh, the best contact he had made was in his first at-bat when he was struck by the pitch. The senior grounded out to the pitcher and struck out looking in his next two at-bats. In the seventh, he looked at a called strike on an offspeed pitch that appeared to be well off the plate, according to Pepper.
“He had some words,” Pepper said.
Albaum re-positioned himself in the batter's box and drilled the very next pitch for the gamewinning hit.
“It went down the right-field line and rolled into foul territory,” Pepper said of Albaum's walk-off double.
Jace Beard singled into leftcenter field to open the Clear Lake seventh before moving up on a passed ball. After Drake Smart drew a walk, Cody Hayes singled into right field, his third hit of the day, to load the bases for Albaum.
Clear Lake's other three runs scored on doubles as well. Winning pitcher Ethan Mazie, who threw a complete game, doubled home a run in the bottom of the second to cut Willits' lead to 3-1, and Ralphy Blancas' tworun double in the bottom of the fourth knotted the score at 3-3. Willits pushed ahead 4-3 with a run in the fifth.
The Cardinals stranded five runners in the first two innings,
leaving the bases loaded in the first and leaving two on in the second despite the Maize RBI double.
Maize struck out seven and walked three while allowing three earned runs. He had two of the Cardinals' 10 hits. Smart also finished with two hits.
Willits beat Clear Lake 4-3 back on March 25 in the season opener for both teams.
The Cardinals have won three of their last four. They hit the road Friday to play Kelseyville (5-3).
In other baseball action Tuesday:
Upper Lake 6, Technology 5
At Rohnert Park, Johnny Gozony pitched two innings for the save as the Upper Lake Cougars held off the Technology Titans in NCL II action despite walking 12 batters.
“If we could figure out how not to walk 10 batters every game, it would be easier,” Upper Lake coach Brian Milhaupt said as the Cougars improved to 2-1 in league play and 5-3 overall. “We were able to string some hits together and get some hits in big situations.”
Will Henry (2-for-4) doubled with the bases loaded to drive in two runs and had another RBI double in the win. Winning pitcher Bradley Sneathen also had a pair of hits and a RBI.
Upper Lake built a 5-1 lead in the first two innings and led 6-3 before Technology scored twice in the bottom of the sixth against reliever Henry to make it a one-run game. Gozony, the Cougars' third pitcher of the day, came on at that point and slammed the door shut on the Titans.
Sneathen struck out seven but also walked six in 3 2/3 innings. He allowed Technology's only hit of the game. Henry worked the next 1 1/3 innings before Gozony took over.
What ultimately proved to be the winning run scored in the top of the sixth when Elijah Alvarez led off the inning with a single.
He moved up to second and came home on a throwing error by the Titans to give Upper Lake a 6-3 lead.
The Cougars are home Friday to play Tomales at 4 p.m.
Lower Lake at Middletown, ppd.
At Middletown, a scheduled NCL I game between the first-place Middletown Mustangs (6-1) and the Lower Lake Trojans (0-6) was postponed and rescheduled for Monday at Middletown.