Senior Eric Farrell was named the 2008 Blue-Gray Game MVP after going 3-for-4 and coming a home run shy of the cycle.
FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
Freshman Trey Turner highlighted a three-run eighth inning with the eventual game-winning RBI-single that scored Tyler Huelsing and gave the Gray squad the go-ahead run in a 9-7 win. Gray team infielder senior Eric Farrell was the brightest star on either team and was named the 2008 Blue-Gray Game MVP. He was a home run shy of the cycle in a 3-for-4 effort.
“I was very encouraged with Saturday’s game,” said Schoenrock. “It was by far our cleanest-played scrimmage of the entire fall. It was a great opportunity to see our guys in a situation with some fans in the stands, which is always good. We appreciate the support the Tiger fans give us. We look forward to the rest of the fall as we look now to try to develop more position depth.”
The Blue team erased a 6-3 deficit with two runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth to claim a 7-6 lead. That lead was short-lived as Huelsing banged a double and came around to score on Turner’s single to break a 7-7 tie. The Blue team crossed another run for a 9-7 cushion and reliever Marcus Barnes worked around a leadoff walk to preserve the win with a scoreless ninth to pick up the save.
In a see-saw battle, both teams scored in the second inning and the Blue went ahead 3-1 with two runs in the fourth. But the Gray quickly answered back with a four-spot in the home half of the fourth. They got the inning started with consecutive singles by Shawn Ablett, Jacob Wilson, and Turner. Freshman Drew Martinez made it four-straight singles with a two-run base knock to tie the game at 3-all. Huelsing then bounced out to second to plate Turner for a 4-3 ballgame. Farrell capped the big inning with an RBI-single to make it 5-3 in favor the Gray squad.
Trailing 6-3, the Blue offense turned up the intensity and cut into the Gray lead with two tallies in the seventh to make it 6-5. Southpaw Brach Davis hung a zero in the bottom of the seventh and Trey Wiedman opened the eighth with a double. Chris Newsom followed with a single and Adam McClain was hit by a pitch to load the sacks for Zach Helton. Helton, who was named the MVP of the Rookies-Vets Game, came through with a two-run double, giving the Blue side a 7-6 advantage.
Farrell led the Gray offense with three hits, and RBI and two stolen bases. Freshmen Turner and Martinez each had three hits and two RBI. Huelsing also had three hits and Ablett two.
Wiedman was perfect in three at-bats for the Blue team. He walked three times, hit a double, a triple and drove in two. Helton had a pair of doubles and two RBI in a 3-for-5 day, while Dan Kaufmann went 1-for-5, but had the game’s only home run–a solo shot over the centerfield wall.
Mark Jobe was the winning pitcher, while Josh Ross was tagged with the loss. Other pitchers of note were Heith Hatfield and Chris Novikoff, who both threw scoreless innings for the Gray side. Freshman Brandon Showmar teamed up with Duke Williams, Ryan Fraser and Davis as the four pitchers to toss scoreless frames for the Blue. Williams scoreless stanza was his first live action since an arm injury ended his season in 2008.
The game was well attended, with 185 fans, including several Highland Hundred members, coming out to get a fall preview of the 2009 Tigers.
The Tigers will go through a week of practice before concluding fall workouts with the annual Garibaldi’s Series, beginning with Game One on Nov. 5.
