By Michael Lindsay
The District 7-3A baseball tournament is in full swing as Thursday’s action saw #1 seed Upperman and #3 Stone Memorial advance in the winners’ bracket via victories over DeKalb County and Livingston Academy.
Upperman vs DeKalb County
Top-seeded Upperman opened the day with an 8-3 victory over DeKalb County as pitcher Julian Llano recorded 8 strikeouts while surrendering 2 hits in 6 innings for the win.
Center fielder Justin Fallon led the Bees offensively as he went 2-3 with a run scored. Chris Wirsing recorded 2 RBIs in the win as well.
Upperman opened the contest with a run in the bottom of the first inning via a Carson Shupe double to score Caden Shanks.
After a scoreless second, Upperman posted three runs with two outs in the bottom of the third inning. An error on a Rookie Allison grounder scored Shanks again followed by a Llano single to score Allison and a bases-loaded balk to score Alec Wilson, giving Upperman a 4-0 lead after three.
The Bees kept the bats going in the bottom of the fourth inning as they scored three runs in the frame to take a 7-0 advantage.
Upperman went ahead 8-0 after a run in the bottom of the fifth before DeKalb County posted three runs in the top of the seventh inning, but the Bees stopped the bleeding at three to secure the 8-3 victory.
The Bees are scheduled to face Stone Memorial on Saturday, time TBD.
Livingston vs. Stone Memorial
Thursday’s finale lived up to the hype as #3 seed Stone Memorial defeated #2 Livingston Academy, 8-5.
“Hats off to Livingston; we’ve played them three times this year and it’s been a battle every time,” said Stone Memorial head coach Trent Stokes. “They kept taking lead on us and we kept battling back. We wanted to come in and make sure we were focused on the fundamentals and didn’t want the moment to get too big.”
Bryce Elmore led Stone Memorial at the plate as he went 3-5 with a run scored and and RBI.
Stone Memorial’s Talyn Hurd earned the victory on the mound as he surrendered no hits, runs or walks while striking out 2 batters in 3 innings of relief of starting pitcher Nick Osmun.
“We had the confidence to pull Nick because we knew Talyn would come in and give us a performance on the mound, and boy did he,” said Stokes. “He got through the toughest part of their lineup and stalled that offense out to give us a chance to take the lead.”
Each team found home in the first inning as Livingston Academy held a 2-1 advantage entering the second. Stone Memorial tied the contest in the top of the second inning as Hurd scored on a passed ball to knot the game at 2 runs each.
Livingston responded in the bottom of the third inning with two runs as a Tayshawn Hayes sacrifice fly scored Carson Parrott followed by a bases-loaded walk to score Dylan York, giving LA a 4-2 lead over the Panthers.
Stone Memorial tied the game again in the ensuing half-inning as Cade Wilson scored on a wild pitch followed by a Titus Bisbee fly ball to score Osmun, tying the game at 4 runs each entering the bottom of the fourth inning.
The Wildcats retook their lead in the bottom of the frame as a York sacrifice fly scored Zach Cotterman to give LA a 5-4 advantage.
After a scoreless fifth inning, Stone Memorial tied the contest for the third time as a Kamryn Melton single scored Elmore to tie the game at 5 runs each.
The top of the seventh inning saw the Panthers take their first lead since the top of the first inning as an Elmore single scored Melton followed by a bases-loaded walk to score Wilson, giving Stone Memorial a 7-5 advantage. Bisbee tacked on another run via a sacrifice fly to score Hurd as the Panthers led 8-5 entering the bottom of the seventh inning.
Hurd retired the Wildcats in order in the bottom of the frame to preserve Stone Memorial’s 8-5 victory and advance them in the winners’ bracket to face Upperman on Saturday.
“This one is huge; if you sell out with pitching and win this game, you’re in a really good spot,” said coach Stokes. “We have the day off tomorrow and get a day of rest for our pitchers. You’re one win away from being in that final two.”
DeKalb County and Cumberland County are scheduled to play at 4 p.m. in the losers’ bracket followed by White County and Livingston Academy at 7 p.m. weather permitting, with all games taking place at Upperman. UCR will have each game livestreamed on our Facebook page.
