Black sweeps Gold in game three

The 2013 Fall World Series at Eck Stadium ended with the Black team beating the Gold squad in all three games played at Eck Stadium.

The best three-game matchup came to a close Tuesday night with a 2-1 victory by the Black team.

The Black squad won the first game with a score of 1-7 and the second game 8-3.

Coach Todd Butler said he was impressed seeing veteran players helping the younger guys and enjoying themselves. He also liked the performances he saw out of some of the freshmen.

“Some of our freshmen like Michael Burns… Wes Phillips and other freshmen played exceptionally well.” he said.

Phillips went 2-for-3 in the game with two singles and one stolen base.

Black squad center fielder Mikel Mucha was the first to put points on the board, knocking a shot over the right field wall in the bottom of the first.

The Gold squad scored their first run of the game on a sacrifice to right field. The popup allowed Jerrik Sigg time to easily come home from third, tying the game.

Sigg’s run was the only one for the Gold in the game, leading to a 2-1 loss.

The nail in the coffin for the Gold squad came in the bottom of the fifth as Tyler Baker scored on a single up the middle by Erik Harbutz.

The win went to Reagan Biechler, pitching 1.2 shutout innings to keep the Gold team locked down in relief. Aaron LaBrie earned the save by pitching a scoreless inning to bring a close to the game.

Austin Gardner received the loss, allowing two hits and one run in 1.2 innings.

Butler said that he enjoyed seeing the guys work hard during the fall, but there is a lot they need to work on.

“[After] all the things that we put in this fall they did a great job,” Butler said.

Butler said going into the winter, the team will be practicing individually to work on two-strike hitting, defense and identifying what they need to work at on an individual basis.

“We’ve got to be able to throw strikes, we’ve got to be able to play defense, and I think two-strike hitting,” he said. “We’re gonna really work on that.”

Butler said that series like these that put players in a game-like atmosphere can allow him to see players play better than he has seen previously.

“When the lights come on the stars begin to shine,” he said.