The Eureka Loggers are considered by many as the team to beat in this year’s Big 5, and judging by their early-season performances that might just be the case.
On Saturday the Loggers closed out their pre-league schedule with a doubleheader sweep against Rancho Cotate at Belotti Field in Eureka.
The Loggers took game one 2-1 and won game two 8-4, improving to 8-4 on the season.
Impressive sophomore Brayden Bermers got the win on the hill in game one, his third of the year.
The young standout, who pitched “one heck of a game” according to his coach, gave up just one hit and three walks in five innings and struck out two.
Bryson Burns pitched two scoreless innings in relief for the save, giving up two hits and no walks and striking out three.
The Loggers managed just two hits for the game, one each by sophomores Scotty Brogan and Wyatt Zeller, but it was all they needed with the visitors committing five errors.
Eureka scored twice in the bottom of the second and that would prove to be the difference in a tight game with Rancho plating just a single run in the top of the fourth.
In game two, the Loggers were officially the away team and scored six runs in the top of the first to quickly take control.
And with some more quality pitching, that would prove to be more than enough to complete the sweep.
Garrett Levitt, Ryder Mitchell and Burns reach finished 2-for-4 in the win, including a double by Mitchell.
Mitchell also pitched five strong innings for the win on the hill, giving up just one earned run on two hits and four walks and striking out eight.
Sophomore Kyle Giacone pitched the final two innings to secure the win, giving up two earned runs on one hit and three walks and striking out five.
According to Eureka head coach Tommy Gale, both wins were scrappy, although that wasn’t a huge surprise considering the Loggers had to play five games in five days, including losses to Windsor (6-2) and Clear Lake (7-6 in nine innings) on Tuesday and a 12-2 win over Salesian the following day.
“It really came down to mental toughness,” Gale said.
It’s been a busy few weeks for the Loggers, who have played 10 of their 12 games over the last 16 days, including six challenging contests against Division-2 schools.
But that should set the Loggers up nicely for league play, which begins in early April.
“I’m super grateful to get a full 24-game schedule on the calendar,” Gale said. “And we’ve played a lot of Division-2 schools early on.”
The Eureka players have responded to the challenge and appear to be coming together nicely ahead of the Big 5.
“They’re meshing well as a unit,” Gale said. “It’s a cohesive team environment. They’re all buddies and they make sure they have fun.”
The Eureka players will have a two-week break between games before opening conference play at home against Fortuna on April 4.
“Our team needs it,” said Gale, whose team is dealing with some sickness and injuries right now.
With the two losses, Rancho Cotate dropped to 3-7.
