Oct. 25, 2015
Nashville, Tenn. – For the third straight game, the Black and Gold teams had to settle the competition in an extra innings shootout with freshman Ethan Paul playing the hero Sunday afternoon with a walk-off single to give Gold a 3-2 win and 2-1 series advantage.
With shootout rules loading the bases with one out, Paul led off the eighth inning against Black reliever Collin Snider. Paul worked the count to three balls and a strike before smashing a single into right field, glancing off the glove of a jumping Julian Infante at first base to score Alonzo Jones from third and wrap up a walk-off win for the Gold team.
The Gold team jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, scratching out runs in each of the first two innings. Jeren Kendall led off with a double that flared into shallow center field and was immediately followed by a Paul single to score the day’s first run. Liam Sabino’s one-out triple into the right field corner with one out started another Gold rally in the second. Tristan Chari’s groundout to first was enough to score Sabino just ahead of Tyler Green’s throw to the plate for a 2-0 Gold lead.
The Black team mounted a rally in the fourth inning for two runs to draw even. Gold starter Matt McGarry issued a leadoff walk to Julian Infante and followed up with a wild pitch to put a runner in scoring position for Green. The big sophomore took advantage with a single to cut the deficit in half before working his way around to third after a Tyler Campbell single and Karl Ellison sac bunt. Freshman Connor Kaiser picked up Green with a fielder’s choice to shortstop to tie the game at 2-2.
The game remained tied thanks to solid pitching from both sides. Black starter Joey Abraham settled in after allowing two early runs retiring six straight before working out of a two on, two-out jam in his fifth and final frame. Ryan Johnson worked 1.2 innings of perfect relief and handed the ball to freshman Patrick Raby. The right-hander was strong for the second straight game, punching out four over three scoreless innings to earn the win. Faced with his second shootout scenario in as many outings, Raby responded with a pop up and ground out to set the stage for Paul’s heroics in the home half of the inning.
Collin Snider took the loss allowing one unearned run on two hits over two innings. Abraham was solid over five innings allowing two runs on five hits. McGarry gave up two runs on four hits with two strikeouts over three-plus innings.
The top of the Gold lineup – Kendall and Paul – produced four of the team’s seven hits Sunday, each collecting two hits. Paul is 5-for-10 in the first three games of the series with his five hits leading all hitters. Campbell led the Black squad with two hits on Sunday.
The two teams resume the series on Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m. with a scheduled nine-inning game.
