Nov. 17, 2017
THE FLATS – In the third and decisive game of the 2017 White vs. Gold World Series, the White Team scored four runs in the first and the fourth innings to pull away for an 11-4 win on Friday evening at Russ Chandler Stadium. The victory gave the series to the White Team 2-1.
The two teams combined for 15 runs on 23 hits, which included seven doubles.
Leading the way for the White Team offensively was junior catcher Joey Bart (3-for-5, double, three RBIs, two runs) and sophomore infielder Paxton Rigby (2-for-5, three RBIs, run) who each drove in three RBIs in the win.
Sophomore Brenton Sanders (2-for-4, two RBIs, run) had two RBIs on the night, while the top two hitters in the lineup in Wade Bailey (3-for-4, double, RBI, three runs) and Carter Hall (1-for-4, double, RBI, run) combined to go 4-for-8 at the plate with two doubles, two RBIs and four runs scored.
Catcher Kyle McCann (2-for-3, two doubles, walk) ripped two doubles and drove in an RBI for the Gold Team, while both Michael Guldberg (1-for-4, double) and Chase Murray (2-for-5, double, RBI) also had one double apiece in the loss.
The game proved to be a staff day on the mound for both teams, as freshman Hugh Chapman (1-0) got the start and the win for the White Team who threw six pitchers in the victory, while lefty Connor Thomas (0-1) received the loss for the Gold Team who used seven pitchers for the contest.
The visitors in gold got the scoring going early in the top of the first, as Nick Wilhite and Colin Hall started the game off with back-to-back singles. Following a sacrifice bunt from Guldberg, Murray double to center field to plate Wilhite and put the Gold Team up 1-0 only four hitters into the game.
Freshman infielder Luke Waddell followed with an RBI single to left, which scored Colin Hall, to give the visitors a 2-0 lead after a half inning of play.
However, the White Team was not phased, as Bailey led off the bottom half of the inning with a double to right. Two batters later, Bart plated Bailey on an infield single to cut the Gold Team’s lead in half at 2-1.
After a strikeout and a Gold Team error, Sanders singled to tie the game up at 2-2. Rigby followed with a single to left to drive in two more runs, both of which were in scoring position due to a second Gold Team error, to cap off the four-run inning and give the White Team a 4-2 lead after just one inning of play.
The White Team added an unearned run in the following inning to push its lead out to 5-2 before the Gold Team got one run back in the top of the fourth on an RBI double by McCann.
With a 5-3 lead, the White Team blew the game open in the bottom of the fourth with another four-run inning.
In the frame, Carter Hall lined a double down the left field line to score the first run. Bart followed with a two-run double to right center field to add to the lead, while three batters later Sanders recorded his second RBI single of the contest to extend the White Team’s lead to 9-3.
The Gold Team pushed across one run in the top of the eighth on a sacrifice fly from freshman Cameron Turley, yet saw the White Team add to its lead with a run in both the seventh and the eighth innings to remain in front en route to the 11-4 win.
The Yellow Jackets will open up its 2018 season on February 16-18, 2018 with the Atlanta Challenge.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech baseball team, follow us on Twitter (@GTBaseball), Facebook, Instagram (@gt_baseball) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.
