by Rusty Ellis
BAXTER – The Upperman Bees fell into an early 3-0 hole against DeKalb County on Tuesday, but battled back and used a three-run fifth inning to sweep the season-series over the Tigers 7-4.
“We’ve done this throughout the year, we painted the picture early in the season that everyone sees us as the top dog,” said UHS head coach Wes Shanks. “Everybody wants to get us, the target is on our back. We know we’re going to get everyone’s best shot. They had a good first inning, and we made a big play to build some momentum.”
After Evan Prichard’s RBI single drove in the third run of the frame, Karsen Holroyd threw out Carson Donnell attempting to score on the same play, ending the inning and keeping the deficit at just 3-0.
The Bees brought home their first three runs of the game on bases-loaded walks in the first and second inning, before Brayden Carter’s RBI groundout gave DeKalb a 4-3 lead right back in the top of the third.
Upperman answered back quickly on Caden Shanks’ RBI single in the bottom half of the frame, and Collier Bush scored the go-ahead run in the fifth inning on a wild pitch.
Julian Llano added on some insurance with a two-run single to cap the frame, and Shanks worked two more clean innings in the sixth and seventh to close out the 7-4 victory.
Shanks finished the game with seven innings of four-run ball, three of which were earned, on five hits, four walks and nine strikeouts to earn the win.
“Just like any sport, that first series might take a bit to get going,” Shanks said of the first inning. “Sometimes it takes a bit to get into the flow of the game, and they had a good approach against him, but you really start to see the bulldog he is when you get later into the game. That’s exactly who you want on the mound.”
Upperman will now turn their attention to Gordonsville on Saturday, as they take on the Tigers at 1 P.M. The Bees will be looking to build on a three-game winning streak following a particularly tough part of their schedule.
“There’s a mentality in there too, we know from the dugout and the locker room, we’ve got the target on our back,” Shanks said. “Smith County played us well and we found a way to win, and we’ve had two competitive games with DeKalb. We’re getting everyone’s best shot, and we’re prepared for that.”
