Gold team defeats Maroon 12-8 in game four of Fall World Series
The gold team won their first game of the fall world series today defeating maroon 12-8 while racking up 16 hits in game four.
Freshmen Taylor Lehnert and Blake Hibbitts earned the start for their respective teams Thursday afternoon at Theunissen Stadium.
Head coach Steve Jaksa said he wanted to see more consistency out of his team after having a few days to practice prior to Thursday’s game.
“Early on, it was more a matter of gaining consistency and getting our pitchers comfortable,” Jaksa said. “ I think our pitchers did a better job of holding runners on base today and had a better awareness on the mound, although toward the end I think we walked too many guys.”
Lehnert pitched six innings for the Gold team, while striking out six and giving up five hits. Hibbitts struck out two and surrendered five runs over four innings.
Scoring began early and didn't slow down for either team.
Gold scored two in the top half of the first innings. Junior Noel Santos scored on a passed ball, and sophomore Cody Leichman scored on a single off the bat of senior Jordan Adams.
Maroon added a run in the first on an infield single from freshman Morgan Oliver that scored senior Tom Lally, giving gold a 2–1 lead.
A double from sophomore Pat Mackenzie and a Lally single in the second allowed the maroon squad to jump into the lead, 3-2.
Over the next four innings, the gold team would heat up at the plate outscoring maroon 9–0 due in part to a two-run homer in the fourth from senior Randon Henika to deep left field.
Maroon tacked on two more runs in the fifth innings.
The majority of the scoring came in the sixth inning, when four runs crossed the plate for the gold team. Singles from sophomores Nick Regnier and Alec Ornelas drove in three runs, increasing the gold lead 11-3.
A total of eight pitchers were used between both teams, including freshmen Adam Aldred, Ryan O’ Shea, Blake Louscher and Jason Gamble. Junior Matt Constance also made an appearance in the game.
Jaksa said having that many pitchers come into the game after the starters finished was a good opportunity for many of the middle relief guys.
Constance walked five batters in the bottom of the ninth, allowing four runs to scored for the maroon squad, but it wasn’t enough. Gold went on to win 12-8.
The two intrasquad teams will face off again for game five at 1 p.m. Saturday inside Theunissen Stadium.
