Upper Lake is 0-4 against St. Helena since April of 2024 but things could change on Tuesday. The Cougars are taking a road trip to face off against the Saints at 4:00 p.m. This will be Upper Lake's first chance to prove their worth in the conference.
Upper Lake managed to slip by Willits the last time these teams faced off, but didn't have those same answers this time around. The Cougars came up short against the Wolverines on Friday, falling 10-0. Having soared to a lofty ten runs in the game before, the Cougars' shutout was a dramatic turnaround.
Meanwhile, after only one run in their last game, St. Helena made sure to put some runs up on the board against Credo on Saturday. The Saints put the hurt on the Gryphon with a sharp 11-2 victory. The Saints haven't had any issues with the Gryphon recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.
Julian Earls made a big impact no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out eight batters over six innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits. He is becoming a predictor of St. Helena's success: when he allows at most two earned runs the team is undefeated (and 2-5 when he doesn't). Earls was also big at the plate, getting on base in two of his five plate appearances with three stolen bases and two runs. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now snagged at least one in each of the last six games he's played.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Dean Sommer, who went 1-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. Those two runs gave him a new career-high. AJ Smith also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen bases of the season.
The victory got St. Helena back to even at 5-5. As for Upper Lake, their loss dropped their record down to 2-5.
Upper Lake might still be hurting after the 11-0 defeat they got from St. Helena in their previous meeting back in May of 2025. Can the Cougars avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
