CALISTOGA — Bradley Sneathen provided the pitching and a fair share of the offense Thursday afternoon as the Upper Lake Cougars pounded the Calistoga Wildcats 21-1 in the North Central League II opener for both of these varsity baseball teams at Calistoga.
Sneathen struck out 13 in the five-inning game, which was shortened because of the 10-run mercy rule. Calistoga put the ball into play only three times and hit only one ball out of the infield, and just barely.
“The last hitter of the game hit a popup into shallow right-center field,” Upper Lake head coach Brian Milhaupt said.
The only hit allowed by Sneathen was an infield single to start the bottom of the third. A passed ball and back-to-back groundouts accounted for the Wildcats’ lone run, by which time the Cougars were well out in front at 13-0.
Sneathen also went 4-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs, part of Upper Lake’s 16-hit attack.
“He was dominant both ways (pitching and hitting),” Milhaupt said of the senior, who is coming off outstanding winter (wrestling) and fall (football) sports seasons. “Hopefully he can stay hot because we need him to be that kind of player.”
Upper Lake (1-0 league, 4-2 overall) had a 5-0 lead before Calistoga had its first at-bat. The Cougars kept on adding to their lead throughout the game, scoring at least two runs in every inning.
Sneathen’s pitching, Upper Lake’s hitting and an error-free day on defense helped make it a low-stress game for Milhaupt, something a coach always appreciates.
“When your pitcher gets 13 strikeouts, there’s not too much action,” Milhaupt said. “You don’t have to do much when your team is hitting the ball like that.”
Johnny Gozony went 3-for-3 with a double and two RBIs for Upper Lake, Will Henry went 3-for-4 with a double and a RBI, and Dylan Slater and Ray Rahmer each went 2-for-3 with thee RBIs.
Upper Lake takes next week off for spring break and returns to action April 12 against Sonoma Academy in Santa Rosa.
