Warriors Strike First, Fall Late to Upperman

The White County Middle School baseball team made the short trip to Baxter Thursday night looking to flip the script against Upperman. Instead, they got more of the same result — but not without a fight. After being shut out earlier in the week, the Warriors grabbed the lead this time around before the Jackets rallied late to take a 3-2 win.

The early innings moved quickly, with both teams threatening but unable to break through. That changed in the third, when White County finally pieced together some offense. Haskell Simmons and Ryder Staggs were both hit by pitches to put two runners on, and Tate Pinion followed by ripping a line drive into left field to bring Simmons home.

Noah Teeple worked a walk to load the bases, and with two outs already on the board, the Warriors stayed aggressive. Kolton Sanders put the ball in play with a hard grounder to third, and with everyone moving on contact, Staggs crossed the plate to stretch the lead to 2-0.

Upperman answered in the bottom of the fourth. A walk, a single, and a ground ball trimmed the lead to 2-1 and shifted the momentum heading into the fifth.

White County had a chance to answer right back. Pinion drove a ball deep into left for a double but was thrown out trying to turn it into three bases. Teeple followed with a single, but the inning stalled there — a missed opportunity that loomed large moments later.

In the bottom half of the fifth, the Jackets capitalized. An error and a hit batter quickly put two runners on, and a single to right field tied the game. Another base hit followed, and just like that, Upperman had pushed across the go-ahead run.

Jack Dicus went the distance on the mound, allowing three runs — two earned — on four hits. He struck out two, walked two, and threw 70 pitches against 21 batters in the effort.

It marked the sixth straight loss for White County, but unlike earlier in the week, this one showed signs of life. The Warriors will try to turn that into a result as they look for their first win of April tonight against Overton County.

WHITE COUNTY BOX SCORE:

HITS: Tate Pinion 2, Noah Teeple 1, Kolton Sanders 1, Zade Brown 1
RUNS: Haskell Simmons 1, Ryder Staggs 1
RBI: Tate Pinion 1, Kolton Sanders 1
2B: Tate P
TB: Tate P 3, Kolton S 1, Noah T 1, Zade B 1
HBP: Ryder S 2, Haskel S

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