Team Black got another home run from freshman Jayson Gonzalez and topped Team Gold, 6-4, in a back-and-forth game three at Hawkins Field Saturday afternoon.
Gonzalez led off the bottom of the second inning with a towering solo blast to left-center off his second long ball of the series. He drilled a grand slam in the team’s 8-7 win Friday afternoon.
Freshman pitchers Jake Eder and Aaron Brown started the game for their respective teams. Eder tossed two scoreless innings for Team Black and Brown allowed one run in two frames for Team Gold.
Pat DeMarco, Ethan Paul, and Stephen Scott drew three consecutive walks to start the top of the third to help Team Gold take the lead. Alex Brewer and Tyler Solomon drove in runs with sacrifice flies, and Ethan Paul raced home on an error.
The 3-1 lead for the Gold team didn’t last long as Black bounced back with a three-run bottom half of the third. Philip Clarke knocked in a run with a single to right, and Black took advantage of two hit batters, two walks, and an error to jump in front, 4-3.
DeMarco and Paul were at it again for Team Gold in the fourth when the duo collected back-to-back two-out hits. After DeMarco singled, he moved to second on a wild pitch by freshman right-hander Tyler Brown. Paul made it hurt when he lined a base hit to right field, scoring DeMarco to make it a 4-4 game.
Right-hander Justin Willis worked through a scoreless bottom of the fourth for Team Gold, but he allowed a pair of runs in the fifth to help Team Black take the lead for good.
JJ Bleday started the rally with a single to right field and moved to second when Walker Grisanti drew a walk. A bunt base hit by Harrison Ray loaded the bases for Cooper Davis who delivered an RBI single to right field to give Black a 5-4 lead. DeMarco threw out Grisanti at the plate for the first out of the inning, but the damage was done. Austin Martin followed with an RBI fielder’s choice to give Team Black an insurance run at 6-4.
Brown came back out for the top of the sixth and issued a leadoff walk to Garrett Blaylock, but the he came back to strike out Kiambu Fentress and got Alonzo Jones to bounce into a 4-6-3 double play to end the game.
Brown picked up the win and Willis was tagged with the loss. Ray was the lone player with a multi-hit game with a 2-for-2 effort.
The fourth and final game of the Black and Gold Series will be played Wednesday night at Hawkins Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. and admission is free for all fans.
