Oct. 18, 2007
ATLANTA – Jeff Rowland drove in three runs and Brad Feltes collected three hits to lead the Gold Team to a 13-11 victory and sweep of the Gold & White World Series Thursday afternoon at Russ Chandler Stadium.
Rowland went 2-for-3 with a home run, stolen base, walk, HBP and two runs scored in addition to driving in a team-best three runs on the afternoon. Feltes led the Gold team with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate, collecting two doubles and scoring two runs while driving in another.
Patrick Long led the White team with three hits, including a double, against the Gold. He also scored two runs and drove in two others. Jesse Dubberly led the White team with three RBI on the afternoon.
A two-run home run by Rowland ignited a seven-run first inning in which the Gold team opened the game with six-straight hits off White team starter Eddie Burns.
Brandon Cumpton hit a two-run single to plate Tony Plagman and Thomas Nichols for a pair of unearned runs in the second inning before a solo home run by Matt Simonds staked the Gold team to a 10-0 lead in the third inning.
Burns gave up 10 runs on 11 hits in three innings of work but earned a no decision after the White team scored 11 runs over a two-inning span to tie the game in the fifth.
Gold team starter Taylor Wood retired the first eight batters he faced but ran into problems in the fourth inning, yielding an RBI double to Luke Murton, an RBI single to Curtis Dupart and a two-run single to Ryan Tinkoff.
After the Gold team extended its lead to 11-4 on a run-scoring double by Feltes in the bottom of the fourth, the White team plated seven runs in the top of the fifth to tie the game at 11-11.
Jay Dantzler drove in Chase Burnette with a double to start the offense, and Patrick Long and Dupart added back-to-back doubles before catcher Jesse Dubberly pulled the White team to within one run on a three-run home run over the left field wall. An RBI single by Jason Garofalo tied the game before Wood retired Dantzler for the final out of the frame.
Nichols worked a bases-loaded walk off White team reliever Michael Hutts to score Rowland in the fifth inning, and the Gold team added an unearned run in the sixth inning to take a 13-11 lead.
Hutts suffered the loss for the White team while reliever Charlie Blackmon earned the win. Chris Hicks retired the side in the bottom of the eighth to pick up the save.
