Vanderbilt Baseball: Gold Evens Series with 5-2 Victory
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A four-run second inning proved to be the difference on Saturday afternoon as the Gold Team evened things up with a 5-2 victory in Game 2 of the Black and Gold World Series.
Junior Isaiah Thomas led the way for Gold, finishing a perfect 2-for-2 with a double and a team-high two runs scored. The freshman duo of Jack O’Dowd and Enrique Bradfield Jr. led the team in RBI, finishing with two apiece.
Gold received impressive outings from its pitching staff, as the trio of Jack Leiter, Donye Evans and Luke Murphy combined to cover the seven-inning matchup.
Leiter tossed 2.0 shutout innings, allowing only one hit while racking up four strikeouts. Evans threw 3.0 frames, recording four strikeouts, while Murphy worked 2.0 hitless innings.
The Gold Team struck first for a second consecutive day, plating four runs in the bottom of the second. Thomas led the inning off with a double to left field, followed by a walk from Jayson Gonzalez to place runners on first and second. After a flyout to center allowed both runners to advance into scoring position, O’Dowd cashed in on an RBI single to cross the game’s first runs and give Gold a 2-0 lead.
The inning continued as freshman Gavin Casas lined a single to center and Alan Espinal drew a walk to load the bases for Enrique Bradfield. Bradfield reached on a fielder’s choice, allowing two runs to cross for Gold to push the score to 4-0 after two innings of action.
The Black Team broke into the scoring column in the third, answering with two runs to trim the deficit. The scoring sequence began with one out as senior Cooper Davis reached on an error by the second baseman. In the next at-bat, junior Tate Kolwyck launched his second home run of the weekend with a two-run shot to left, making it a 4-2 game.
Gold responded with a single tally in the home half to extend its lead to 5-2. Thomas reached on a one-out walk, before coming across to score on an RBI double from Gonzalez.
The two teams return to the diamond tomorrow afternoon for the decisive Game 3, which is scheduled for a 1 p.m. first pitch from Hawkins Field.
Content provided courtesy of Vanderbilt University Press Release