Upshaw comes up big for South Bend

In his 42nd pro at-bat, Austin Upshaw was given the green light.
The Cubs prospect stepped up to the plate with two on and no outs in the first inning on Saturday, expecting to receive the bunt sign from manager Jimmy Gonzalez, who also coaches third. Instead, Upshaw was told he could swing away.
"All right, here we go. Let's see if I can jump on a fastball," he remembered thinking.
On the first pitch, Upshaw ripped his first full-season homer to right, beginning his best game since his Minor League debut. The 20-year-old went on to go 3-for-4 and drove in a career-high four -- including the go-ahead run in the 11th inning -- as Class A South Bend topped Dayton, 7-3, at Fifth Third Field.

"I felt real good," Upshaw said. "Every at-bat, you're focusing on getting my pitch to hit and barreling it up and trying to help my team by getting on base and get runs in, just trying to do whatever I can to help the team win."
After grounding out in the third and getting plunked in the fourth, Upshaw led off the seventh with a single on an 0-2 offering from reliever Carlos Machorro. Because he was the leadoff hitter, the 13th-round pick in last month's Draft thought he could be aggressive as he raced to second, but right fielder Michael Beltre and shortstop Hector Vargas had other plans.
"I'm already 0-2 in the hole, now you got to fight for your life," Upshaw said. "He throws me a curveball outside that I saw well. It was kind of slow, so I saw it the whole way and he left it over the plate. I hit it down the line and I just figured I could stretch it into a double. But [the] right fielder made a good throw and a good tag got me."
Dayton tied the game in its half of the frame, eventually forcing innings. After Upshaw scored the winning run in the 12th on Tuesday against Great Lakes, he stepped up in the 11th with runners at the corners and one out. Knowing he was 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position with South Bend, the Kennesaw State product focused on getting his pitch.
Upshaw laced a single to right to score Andruw Monasterio, who started the inning with a hit, Upshaw felt fortunate the to give his team the lead.
"It was really exciting," he said. "I had been struggling with runners in scoring position and to see that ball go through and to realize that I just did something big for my team, it was very rewarding."

After scoring an insurance run on a double by Kevonte Mitchell, Upshaw jogged to the dugout and noticed all his teammates were ready to congratulate one of their newest teammates as he just completed his first week in the Midwest League.
"It's been great. The whole Cubs organization I can tell is very family-oriented," the Buford, Georgia, native said. "Everybody's so nice and welcoming and that made me feel like not just a team, but a family as soon as I step foot on the field. It wasn't like I was ever the odd man out. They included me in everything and I really appreciate it."

On June 28, Upshaw belted two homers and drove in five runs in his pro debut in the Rookie-level Arizona League. He's hitting .370 with three homers and 13 RBIs in 11 games as he gets adjusted to pro ball.
"I think college did a lot for me. I feel like obviously pro ball, the pitching is a lot better, but I think college prepared me for this," the infielder said. "I just came in with confidence and I knew I've worked my butt off to get here and I belong here and it's really shown."
Wyatt Short (2-3) yielded a hit and struck out two in two innings for the win.