The fall baseball season has started strong for the Gold team in the Black and Gold World Series. The Gold team leads the series 3-0, but things are about to change, according to head coach Todd Butler.

“I know the Gold team is winning 3-0 right now, and I really wanted to see the Black team battle more,” he said. “The other coaches and I will redraft the teams to make it more competitive for the next couple of games.”

During game three Tuesday, Gold dominated with a 7-3 win and out hit the Black team 8-6. Previously, Gold won game two with a score of 7-4, and game one with a score of 5-1.

Redshirt freshman Josh DeBacker led the Gold team, going two-for-three with two RBIs, along with freshman Luke Ritter, who also brought in two runs.

“Waiting a year really gave me the opportunity to watch the coaches and gave me a great edge,” DeBacker said. “One year really makes a difference; it allowed me to really understand what the coaches want.”

While DeBacker waited a year to officially play for the Shockers, his teammate, redshirt senior Mikel Mucha, had a different take on the fall season.

“There are up and down days,” Mucha said. “There are days we do well and other days we don’t, but that’s what the fall is for — it’s practice, it’s a time for us to work and get better every day.”

With all of the experienced and new players, Butler said the defense is doing well, the pitching staff is good, but the offense needs a little bit of improvement.

“Overall it was a good fall,” he said. “You know who has experience and which new guys need to grow.”

DeBacker said he understands what some of the new players are feeling.     

“My best advice is just to keep on trucking,” DeBacker said. “A lot of these young guys need to learn that this sport is a marathon, not a sprint. You come in as the best guy from your high school and everyone here is better than you. You need to work on your skills and stick with it.”

The next fall game is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday at Eck Stadium.