UL baseball team drops 11-3 non-league decision to visiting Maxwell
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ST. HELENA >> Charlie Baum spoiled Middletown’s North Central League I opener Tuesday in St. Helena as the Saints junior pitched a no-hitter in a 9-0 win over the Mustangs.
Baum struck out 10 and walked only one as St. Helena improved to 9-2 on the season. Middletown fell to 1-3-1.
Madden Sutton drew that lone walk from Baum, who allowed just three baserunners (two other Middletown players reached on errors).
St. Helena won its seventh straight game.
Landon Pisaro, a freshman, was the losing pitcher. He worked 4 1/3 innings before giving way to another freshman, Cody de Jong.
Middletown plays three more games on the road this week – Wednesday at Willits (non-league), Friday at Cloverdale (league) and Saturday at Piner (non-league).
The Mustangs are looking to improve on the 3-11 league mark they posted a year ago when they opened their NCL I schedule with five straight losses.
In junior varsity action, St. Helena beat Middletown 5-2. Kolton Costlow (1-for-2) had the Mustangs’ lone hit.
Reliever Dillan Lewis-Miles took the loss, allowing three runs in two innings.
In other varsity baseball action Tuesday:
Maxwell 11, Upper Lake 3
At Upper Lake, the Upper Lake Cougars (3-3) managed just two hits in a non-league loss to the undefeated Maxwell Panthers (6-0).
Losing pitcher Tyler Collins went 1-for-3 with a RBI while Ryan Young went 1-for-4.
The Panthers pulled away with a three-run third, collecting five hits in the inning, and a three-run sixth when they had a double and a triple.
“We didn’t hit the ball well,” Upper Lake head coach Don Meri said of his team’s tough day on the diamond.
Collins, Upper Lake’s ace, struggled against the Panthers, allowing six runs on five hits in four innings. He struck out three.
Largely because of spring break, the Cougars were minus three starters, forcing Meri to use players out of position. While Meri said it probably wouldn’t have made a difference in the final outcome, it certainly didn’t help.
“It is what it is,” Meri said.
However, the Cougars continued to battle all game.
“They never quit,” Meri said of his young squad, one that suits up only one senior. “We’re still going to get there.
Upper Lake opens its league schedule Friday at home against Fort Bragg at 4 p.m.
