COLUMBIA, Mo. - After the Gold team saw its offense sputter for most of the game, senior catcher Logan Bone (Festus, Mo.) delivered a two-out, bases-loaded double in the eighth inning to claim a 4-3 win Sunday afternoon (Oct. 12) at Taylor Stadium. Trey Harris (Powder Springs, Ga.) had the other RBI for Gold, a double in the sixth inning that scored Josh Lester (Columbus, Ga.).
The Black squad held the lead for most of the game after a three-run third inning in which Ryan Howard (St. Charles, Mo.) and Jake Ivory (St. Charles, Mo.) both hit home runs to left field, both players' second of the three-game fall set. Pitching dominated the early running of the game as newcomers Reggie McClain (Duluth, Ga.) and Tanner Houck (Collinsville, Ill.) pitched six innings and had eight and five strikeouts, respectively.
McClain had to work out of trouble in the first inning, escaping a two-on, one-out jam with a strikeout and a groundout to keep the game scoreless through the first frame. Houck started strong, getting a 1-2-3 inning in the first and fanning two in the second as the game went 0-0 into the third inning.
Team Black broke through in the third inning for a run, a solo shot from Howard to left for a 1-0 advantage. Three batters later, Ivory had his turn as he launched a ball into the bullpen in left to extend the Black lead to 3-0. The Gold squad got its first hit of the contest in the bottom of the fourth inning, an infield single to lead off from Lester and they then threatened to score in the fifth with two on and one out. A caught stealing at third diffused the situation, and Houck once again escaped unharmed.
Gold got on the board in the sixth with back-to-back hits from Lester and Harris, who claimed a RBI double, cutting the Black lead to 3-1. Nolan Gromacki (Smithville, Mo.) took over on the mound for Gold in the seventh, immediately getting into trouble with back-to-back singles to start off the inning. He was lifted in favor of Austin Tribby (Springfield, Mo.) after a sacrifice bunt, and Tribby was able to hold Black off the board. Bryce Montes De Oca (Lawrence, Kan.) replaced Houck in the seventh, recording three strikeouts in the frame.
Zack Henderson (Greendale, Wis.) entered to pitch after a scoreless top of the eighth, and he pitched his way into trouble with runners on the corners. John Miles (Columnbia, Mo.) replaced him, issuing a walk and then a go-ahead double for Bone as Gold claimed a 4-3 lead. Andrew Schwaab (St. Charles, Mo.) picked up the save for the Gold squad as he pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
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