By Michael Lindsay
The Upperman Bees’ Class 3A baseball sectional series opener at Red Bank took extra innings to determine a winner on Thursday as the Bees defeated the Lions 4-3 in 9 innings.
“It’s what you expect in playoff baseball,” said Upperman head coach Wes Shanks. “I told the guys that this won’t be like a regular district ball game. They (Red Bank) are fighting for the same thing we are; to get to that state tournament. We threw everything and the kitchen sink at them, and they fought back.”
Upperman senior pitcher Julian Llano struck out 11 batters while surrendering 5 hits and 2 walks in 7 innings of work. Justin Fallon, Alec Wilson and Chris Wirsing also made appearances on the mound during the 9-inning game with all three staying under 25 pitches to remain available for Friday’s action.
“We have everybody available except Julian,” said Shanks. “And you’ve got to give it to that kid. Julian didn’t have his best stuff, and yet he still battled. We went with the guys that got us here and can close a ball game. Pitching coach Dalton Dronebarger has been our guy the last three years and the players trust him.”
Red Bank opened the contest with a run in the bottom of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead over the Bees. After more three scoreless innings, Upperman broke through with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth as Karsen Holroyd stole home on a dropped third strike followed by a Wirsing single to score Evan Huddleston, giving the Bees a 2-1 advantage.
A Braden Green single to right in the top of the sixth inning scored Llano and extended Upperman’s lead to 3-1.
The Bees entered the bottom of the seventh with their 3-1 advantage before Red Bank battled back to score two runs on a two-out single to left, tying the game at 3-3 and forcing extra innings.
After a scoreless 8th inning, Green drove in Llano on a sacrifice fly in the top of the 9th to take a 4-3 lead. Red Bank had one final chance in the bottom of the ninth inning, but Wilson and Wirsing shut down the Lions on the mound to seal the 4-3 win.
Game two of the best-of-three series is set for 4 p.m. CST at Red Bank High School with game three following if necessary. Each game will air live on the UCR Media Network’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.
“The three-game series is true baseball,” said Shanks. “It gives you an opportunity to go through pitching and see who’s deep. We feel good about where we’re at right now, but it isn’t over. We still have to face a Red Bank team that’s ready to fight, and they’re at home with a huge crowd. They didn’t stop fighting and found a way to tie it, but we found a way to match it.”
