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Upton's fruit punch powers Windham

Wednesday, June, 03 By Hector Longo

WINDHAM – The ball never rose above 10 feet. Yet, it cleared the six-foot fence some 200 feet away and traveled deep into the woods.

It doesn't take a math teacher to figure that Alyssa Upton's third homer of the season was hit pretty hard.

The Windham High sophomore pulverized a meaty fourth-inning fastball for the solo shot then added a pair of doubles, scoring three and driving in three to lead the Jaguars to a 14-7 Division 2 playoff-opening win over Hanover.

Windham, seeded second, will now host No. 7 Pembroke, here Saturday at 4 p.m. in the state quarterfinals.

“That was definitely the best, a line drive. The other two were popups,” said Upton. Hitting is the biggest thing for us as we keep moving on. If we have a bad day on offense it affects us more. Not hitting really brings us down.”

“Not hitting” was not something Windham had to worry about yesterday against No. 15 Hanover. The Jags feasted on three different Hanover arms.

Lately, though, it's been revolving around the clean-up hitter, Upton, although even she didn't expect it to happen this soon.

“(Windham coach Dave Beard) had other girls doing real well in the cleanup spot,” said the first baseman Upton.

And then, Upton got off to a very tough 4 of 23 start.

“I was really in a slump at the beginning of the year. I was thinking to much at the plate,” said Upton. “I have to go in there and not worry about anything, just hit. I needed to clear my mind. The ball looks so much better now, because I'm not thinking about everything.”

The proof is in the numbers. Since making the corrections after her .174 start, Upton has been simply impossible to get out. She's gone 17 of her last 36, including yesterday, to bump the average to a much healthier .356.

Our first lady, Michelle Obama, would be happy to learn that Upton was first to mention the improved health of Windham High's lunches as a major factor in her plate resurgence.

“The fruit at lunch definitely helps, so did staying after practice for more hitting and working on my own at home,” said Upton, who expects to travel to Virginia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Rhode Island this summer with the New England Diamond Gems program out of Nashua.

But for now, all thoughts are on the playoffs.

“I feel really confident in our team,” said Upton. “We just have to stay up every game.”

Rachel Rogers pitched the win yesterday, going the route and overcoming a bout with some control problems. Never was she in trouble as the Jags kept the offense flowing early and often.

Windham, now 15-3, did not face 13-4 Pembroke in the regular season.

“We're not going to be able to play defense and make mistakes like we did today,” said Coach Beard.