Jones Pitches Gold To 5-4 Win Over Purple
October 24, 2015 | Baseball
SEATTLE – Team Gold took game one of the Purple and Gold World Series at Husky Ballpark Friday, beating the Purple squad 5-4 in seven innings. The Gold team scored twice in the second inning to take the lead for good, and added a run in the third and two more in the fifth. Combined with strong pitching, the Gold squad was able to take a 1-0 advantage in the best-of-four series.
Winning pitcher Spencer Jones allowed just one hit and one run over the first four innings to earn the win.
In the second inning, Jones gave up a lead-off single to Purple first basemen John Naff. A walk followed by a sacrifice by shortstop Chris Baker moved Naff to third base. A two-out passed ball allowed Naff to score the first run of the game. Jones settled down from there with scoreless innings in the third and fourth.
Gold answered Purple in the bottom of the second, as designated hitter Alex Galgano put the first run on the board with a RBI double to deep center, scoring catcher Willie MacIver. Freshman third baseman Peyton Lacoste followed suit and drove Galgano home with a long double down the right field line.
In the third, Gold added another run when Gage Matuszak scored from second base on a throwing error by Purple pitcher Troy Rallings.
The Gold team played add on in the fifth when they loaded the bases off righty Alex Hardy after a lead-off double from Gold left fielder Josh Cushing, followed by a pair of walks. Hardy almost escaped the jam after a sliding diving catch in shallow left field by KJ Brady and a pop-up to catcher Joey Morgan, however, he issued two bases-loaded walks extending Gold's lead to 5-1.
Team Purple made a game of it in the sixth inning to cut the deficit to one run, but that would be as close as they would get. With a 3-2 count, two outs and the bases loaded, Morgan hit a long ball to left field that was dropped by Cushing, allowing all three runners to score and making it 5-4.
But team Gold handed the ball to left-handed senior Will Ballowe, who got a strikeout to end the sixth and then struck out the side in the seventh to earn the save.
Cushing was 2 for 3 with two doubles and a run to lead the Gold offense. Galgano was 1 for 1 with a double, RBI, run and two walks.
The teams return to Husky Ballpark Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Freshman Joe DeMers and Sophomore Noah Bremer are scheduled to be the starting pitchers.
Game 1: Gold 5, Purple 4
GOLD 021 020 0 –- 5 5 1
PURP 010 003 0 –- 4 3 2
PURPLE: Troy Rallings, Alex Hardy (5), Westin Wuethrich (5), Ryan Schmitten (6) and Joey Morgan; GOLD: Spencer Jones, Greg Minier (5), Toby Dunlap (6), Will Ballowe (6), and Willie MacIver. W – Jones. L – Rallings. Sv – Ballowe. HR – none. 3B – none. 2B – Gold; Alex Galgano, Peyton Lacoste, Josh Cushing (2).
