Upton's 10 K's Not Enough in Beal City Opener

The varsity baseball team at Beal City didn't expect to be playing their first game on April 11th. They also didn't expect to be playing in what felt like playoff football weather. However, on Tuesday the Aggies got their first taste of the 2017 baseball season in a tough match up against the Bay City Central Wolves.

On opening day, the Aggies started junior pitcher Brett Upton. Beal City started slow and fell behind 2-0 after the 1st inning. However, they would settle down as Upton would continue to mow down hitters. He followed up a stellar second inning by striking out the side in the third. The Aggie defense held strong, but they couldn't seem to get a run across. Collin Sharrar would get the first Aggie hit of the season on a ground ball up the middle, but he would eventually get stranded at third to end the inning. 

                                       (Brett Upton pitching 4/11/17 Photo by Joey Paciero)

Both teams continued to battle keeping the score at 2-0 until the top of the sixth. The bases would be loaded as starting pitcher Brett Upton would exit the game. He finished with 10 strikeouts allowing 4 runs and a walk in 5 1/3 innings. The top of the sixth would eventually be a seven run inning for the Wolves. 

Trailing 9-0, It would've been easy for the Aggies to lay down and die, but they kept fighting. In the bottom of the sixth, senior Thomas McCann would hit an RBI double to put Beal City on the board. Brett Upton followed his double, with one of his own that hit the center field fence bringing McCann in to score. However, their rally would fall short and Bay City Central would go on to win 10-2. 

The second game of the double header would be called due to darkness. However, the boys will be back in action Thursday, April 13th at 4:00 to take on Claire High School at home! The Aggies baseball team will look for their first win of the season so make sure you come out and support them!