By Michael Lindsay
The Upperman Bees opened District 7-3A play in the win column Monday afternoon as they won at Stone Memorial in sub-freezing temperatures, 6-2.
Upperman senior Caden Shanks led the Bees on the mound as he recorded 10 strikeouts while surrendering only 2 hits in 4 and 2/3 inning. Justin Fallon led Upperman at the plate as the centerfielder went 2-4 with a run scored.
Stone Memorial senior Nick Osmun struck out 8 while surrendering 4 hits in 5 innings pitched.
The Panthers struck first in the bottom of the first as a Drake Scarbrough single to right field scored Talyn Hurd and Bryce Elmore to give Stone Memorial a 2-0 lead.
Upperman responded in the top of the fourth inning as an error from the Panthers on a grounder by Carson Shupe allowed Alex Wilson and Rookie Allison to score, tying the game at 2-2.
The Bees took the lead in the top of the fifth as a single by Fallon followed by a double from Wilson drove in two runs to give Upperman a 4-2 advantage.
Upperman tacked on two more runs in the top of the sixth inning before Julian Llano struck out five of the final six Stone Memorial batters to preserve the 6-2 victory by the Bees.
The teams are scheduled to play their second matchup Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Baxter.
