The Rancho Cotate Cougars are taking a road trip to challenge the Eureka Loggers at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
Rancho Cotate was handed a eight-run loss in their previous outing, but that didn't affect their clutch gene on Saturday. They skirted past Sonoma Valley 7-5. The Cougars' hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Jett Derammelaere was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out six batters over four innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits (and only one walk). What's more, he gave up only one walk, the fewest he's had since back in February of 2024. He was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with two RBI. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in March of 2024.
Anthony Barbato
In other pitching news, Anthony Barbato looked comfortable as he pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has become a key player for Rancho Cotate: the team is 2-1 when he allows at most one hit, but 1-2 otherwise.
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Jeremiah Olvera, who scored three runs and stole Three bases. while going 3-for-4. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in runs. Parker Perdue also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.
Rancho Cotate hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Sonoma Valley struck out ten times.
Meanwhile, Eureka posted their closest win since April 27, 2024 on Saturday. They came out on top in a nail-biter against Santa Rosa, sneaking past 9-8. The Loggers haven't had any issues with the Panthers recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive victory against them.
Bryson Burns made a big impact no matter where he played. On the mound, he pitched 4.2 innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off two hits. Burns was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-3.
In other batting news, Robert Williams and Garrett Levitt did most of the damage at the plate: Williams scored two runs and stole Three bases. while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances, while Levitt scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4. Williams has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last four times he's played. Another player making a difference was Cole Zeller, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-4.
Eureka's first win this season bumped their record up to 1-2. As for Rancho Cotate, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 3-3 record this season.
