The Upper Lake Cougars will be playing in front of their home fans against the Cloverdale Eagles at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Upper Lake will bounce into Tuesday's contest after beating Middletown, who they hadn't topped in three consecutive meetings. Upper Lake had just enough and edged Middletown out 5-4.
Nya Marcks spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered four runs (all of which were unearned) on five hits and racked up 11 Ks. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts every time she's pitched this season.
On the hitting side, Upper Lake's win was truly a team effort as four different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Ruby Wurm, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-3. Wurm is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now stolen at least one in the last three games she's played.
Meanwhile, Cloverdale put the finishing touches on their sixth blowout victory of the season on Friday. They were the clear victor by a 15-9 margin over Lower Lake. The victory was nothing new for Cloverdale as they're now sitting on three straight.
Cloverdale also let their pitcher toss all 9.2 innings and she was also dialed-in: Charlotte Burchett gave up seven earned (and two unearned) runs on seven hits and racked up 15 Ks. Those 9.2 innings set a new season-high mark for her.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Rylee Reasoner, who went 3-for-5 with a home run, four runs, and two RBI. Brianna McNulty was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-5.
Upper Lake's win ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 4-6. As for Cloverdale, they pushed their record up to 9-2 with that victory, which was their fifth straight on the road.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Upper Lake has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 11.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Cloverdale struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.1. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Upper Lake might still be hurting after the 8-0 defeat they got from Cloverdale when the teams last played back in March. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Reasoner, who scored a run while going 3-for-4. Now that Upper Lake knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
