The Upperman Bees clinched their fourth consecutive district championship Monday.
The Bees hoisted the trophy after defeating Stone Memorial 7-4. They trailed 3-1 early on but scored three runs in the third to secure the victory. Upperman Head Coach Wes Shanks said his team will look to stay competitive all season long.
“If you put a ball in play and make the other team make a play, sometimes they’ll throw the ball away,” Shanks said. “But just that pressure in itself is how you win ball games and, you know, take the W’s.”
Upperman will host Tullahoma in the first round of regionals on Friday. Shanks said he and the Upperman coaches have stressed having quality at-bats.
“The more we see the pitcher, the more we’re gonna see the baseball, the better contact and more aggressive we’re gonna get towards them and give it to our guys,” Shanks said.
Shanks said his team responded in dominant fashion during the district tournament.
“We know what we need to do to be successful day in and day out in game,” Shanks said. “But the counter to that is, every other team is looking at us on top of the mountain and trying to give us their best shot to dethrone us.”
Upperman finished with a 13-0 record in district, including tournament games. The Bees have won six straight games heading into regionals. They will seek their third trip to the state tournament in last four years.
