EUREKA — It was a double dose of the Del Norte Warriors for the Upper Lake High School softball team Saturday during the final rounds of the St. Bernard’s Tournament in Eureka, and the Cougars lost both times, 8-6 in a time-limit-shortened first game and 11-2 in the third-place game that followed.
Tournament teams were re-seeded after the early game Saturday and Upper Lake and Del Norte ended up paired together in the final round as things turned out.
Coming off an 8-6 win over St. Bernard’s in the opening round Friday, a game that also was shortened because of the tournament’s hard-and-fast time-limit rule, Upper Lake took a 6-4 lead into the top of the fifth inning in its first meeting with Del Norte Saturday morning only to watch the Warriors push ahead with a four-run outburst. They were still batting with two outs when the time limit was reached and the game ended.
“It (the time limit) worked to out advantage against St. Bernard’s and against us against today,” Upper Lake head coach Nick Williamson said.
All-Tournament selection Zoey Petrie went 2-for-3 with two RBIs for the Cougars and Tristin Rhodes (1-for-3) also drove in two runs. Ruby Wurm had the only other Upper Lake hit.
Losing pitcher Nya Marcks went the distance, striking out 11 and walking five in 4 2/3 innings.
In the third-place rematch with Del Norte on Saturday afternoon, Upper Lake (5-6) was locked in a 2-2 tie through four innings before the Warriors went ahead to stay with a two-run fifth. It remained a 4-2 game until the Warriors scored seven times in the seventh.
“We hit the ball well in the second game, but they were hitting the ball everywhere we weren’t and we were hitting the ball everywhere they were,” Williams said.
Marcks (1-for-3) and Lexi Wurm, the losing pitcher, drove in Upper Lake’s runs. Marcks and Paris Klier had the only Upper Lake hits.
Wurm pitched a complete game, striking out two and walked three.
“Playing in a tournament like this is preparing us well,” Williamson said with a look ahead to the start of North Central League II play, which opens Thursday for the Cougars in Calistoga at 4 p.m. “The whole point of coming up to a tournament like this is to get ready for league. Overall these were good games for the girls.”
Upper Lake was scheduled to host a non-league doubleheader Tuesday against Point Arena but those games have been postponed and will be rescheduled at a later date.
