By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
SALEM, Ore.– Incoming Dayton sophomore Lexi Upmeyer made herself known in the Stars N’ Stripes Championship Game against the NW Vandals 14U squad on Sunday afternoon at Wallace Marine Park.
Upmeyer, playing with the Oregon Titans 14U-Muranaka squad, went 3-for-3 with 3RBI’s, leading the Titans offense that exploded for 13 runs on 11 hits in the Championship Game. And much of their damage in their 13-4 victory came in the final three innings where they scored the game’s final ten runs after going down 4-3 after the first inning.
“It was a really hard thing because we’ve been struggling with that lately, it was an amazing job by us and I’m really proud of my team,” Upmeyer said of overcoming that first inning. “My role is to bring the energy up and be like a spark plug. I’ve been hitting a lot better now and I’m just swinging.”
The two squads met earlier in the bracket, the first game of the day for the Oregon Titans squad that saw the Titans win 7-3 to reach the Championship Game. Kollyns Ramirez hit a three-run Home Run in that game and Zoe Ferebee drove in another two runs in the 14U Tournament Semi’s coming off of the Oregon Titan’s 3-0 day on Saturday.
Brooklynn Knight and Delany Dagupion each drove in two runs in the Championship Game with Addyson Muranaka striking out three pitching on Sunday. Pyper Pizano struck out two in the opening game as the Titans finished the weekend 5-0 en route to the Tournament Championship Title. They joined the Oregon Titans-Carapinha/Smith 18U squad in winning titles on the day.
“The tournament went great and we’re going to get better at practice and working on the small things. That’s the biggest thing is the small things,” said Upmeyer.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
