MAXWELL — Jordann Gudmundson went 3-for-3 with a double and three RBIs and Lexi Wurm added three hits, including a triple and two RBIs, as the Upper Lake High School softball team beat Williams 18-5 in five innings Thursday afternoon in the consolation semifinals of the Maxwell Tournament.
Earlier Thursday the Cougars dropped a 7-5 decision to Pierce in first-round action. Upper Lake has Friday off before returning to Maxwell on Saturday at 1 p.m. to play an opponent to be determined in the consolation championship game.
“It was a pretty good day,” Upper Lake head coach Nick Williamson said of the Cougars’ first two tournament games. “This (win over Williams) was a good morale boost. We had some good play and it was good for the team to get a win.”
Upper Lake (2-3) spotted Williams a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but that was a distant memory after the Cougars batted around and scored 11 times in the bottom half. A six-run fourth inning pushed Upper Lake’s lead into double digits and the game was halted because of the 10-run mercy rule after the Yellowjackets failed to score in the top of the fifth.
Eight Cougars had at least one hit, with Gudmundson and Wurm leading the way. Winning pitcher Karlee Zimmerschied and Nya Marcks both went 2-for-3 with a double and a RBI while Zoey Petrie went 2-for-2 with a double and a RBI. Nataly Velasco added a triple.
Zimmerschied pitched the first four innings and Wurm closed it out in the fifth.
Pierce 7, Upper Lake 5
In the early game Thursday, Wurm’s second home run of the season, a two-run blast, capped a three-run rally that gave Upper Lake a 5-4 lead in the top of the fifth inning, but Pierce rallied with three runs in the bottom of the sixth to pull out the victory.
Marcks allowed six hits, struck out 11 and walked seven while going the distance for Upper Lake. She also had three of the Cougars’ 10 hits, including a double.
Pierce scored four times in the bottom of the third to open up a 4-1 lead. Upper Lake battled back to take the lead with a run in the fourth and three more in the fifth.
While the Cougars out-hit the Bears 10-6, Upper Lake also committed six errors.
“A couple of them definitely cost us, but overall we played well and the girls stuck together well,” Williamson said.
Paris Klier went 2-for-3 with a double for Upper Lake and Ashley Sprague went 2-for-4. Petrie (RBI double) and Gudmundson also had hits.
