Oct. 25, 2007
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The 2007 Black and Gold scrimmage got under way Thursday night with the Gold team capturing game one of the series 7-4 behind a solid pitching performance from junior and Gold team captain Nick Christiani.
“It was huge to win game one,” Christiani said. “Since we drafted the teams, all the Black team has been talking about is how the Gold team has no pitching. Being one of the older guys, I just wanted to go out and set the tone for us right away.”
Christiani picked up the win for the Gold team, tossing five innings of scoreless baseball. Christiani gave up only two hits, struck out four and did not allow a runner to reach via base on balls.
“I thought Christiani pitched really well,” Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin said. “I thought that was the early difference. They got off to a quick lead. After that, it was just maintaining the lead. I thought from a pitching standpoint, the Gold team pitched pretty well.”
The Gold team got the scoring started in the opening inning. With two outs, Dominic de la Osa hit a single to center. Pedro Alvarez followed with a mammoth home run to left-center field to give the Gold a 2-0 lead.
The Gold team added on to their lead in the fourth inning. Alvarez got the rally started with a single. After moving to second on a Shea Robin single, Alvarez stole third and was driven in on a double from center fielder Steven Liddle.
The Black team inched closer in the bottom of the sixth inning. With one out, Curt Casali doubled, moved to third on a passed ball, and then came around to score on a ground out by Alex Hilliard to cut the lead to 3-1.
The Gold answered immediately in the top of the seventh with two more runs. Liddle led off the inning with a single, and then scored on a double off the bat of Joey Manning to extend the lead to 4-1. A batter later, Drew Fann singled to center to stretch the lead to five, 5-1.
The Black team scored a single run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Jonathan White singled to drive in Parker Hanks and cut the lead to 5-2.
The Gold team scored single runs in the eighth and ninth innings. In the eighth, Robin singled to center to drive in Ryan Flaherty. De la Osa tried to score behind Flaherty but was gunned down at the plate by Macias. With one out in the ninth, Manning doubled down the left field line and would later score after a fielding error by Flaherty.
The Black team attempted to mount a rally in the bottom of the ninth. After Andrew Giobbi reached, Hanks crushed a home run down the left field line to cut the lead to 7-4. After the homer, redshirt freshman Mark Lamm came in and retired three of the next four batters to end the game and record the save.
The Black and Gold scrimmage continues tomorrow with game two of the series. Freshman All-American Mike Minor gets the call for the Black team, while Jason Cunningham will take the mound for the Gold squad. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
