Gold Takes Game Two Of World Series, 11-1
October 31, 2015 | Baseball
GREENVILLE, N.C. - Garrett Brooks and Travis Watkins each belted home runs, while the pitching trio of Evan Voliva, Sam Lanier and Luke Bolka scattered four hits over seven innings helping Gold to an 11-1 win over Purple Saturday afternoon in Game Two of the Purple-Gold Series at Lewis Field inside Clark-LeClair Stadium.
The final game of the three-game series will be played Sunday, Nov. 1 at 2 p.m. with the series being determined via run differential. Currently Gold holds a plus-23 margin in the run category outscoring Purple 27-4 in two games. Sunday is also the Fall "Meet the Pirates" event and following the scrimmage, members of the 2015 American Athletic Conference Championship squad will be presented their rings from ECU Director of Athletics Jeff Compher on the field.
Gold (2-0) pounded out 10 hits with five going for extra bases, while Brady Lloyd and Wes Phillips each collected a pair of hits. Brooks led the way with four RBI, three coming via the long ball, and Phillips drove in two more runs pushing his series total to eight.
Voliva (1-0) picked up the win allowing a pair of hits with two strikeouts in 3.2 scoreless frames. Sam Lanier, who tossed one inning of relief in Game 1, had a scoreless 1.1 innings with two strikeouts, while Luke Bolka surrendered one run (earned) in two innings of work with a pair of strikeouts.
Mason Keen (0-1) suffered the loss allowing five runs (all earned) on 1.1 innings on five hits. Chris Holba was also touched for five runs (four earned) on four hits while allowing three walks. Jimmy Boyd gave up a run (earned) on one hit in two-thirds of an inning.
Gold jumped out to an early 5-0 lead thanks in part to a RBI base hits by Phillips (double), Drew Piscorik (single) and Brady Lloyd (double). Piscorik also scored on a wild pitch and Brooks drove in a run on fielder's choice platting Lloyd.
Phillips added to the lead, 6-0, in the third with an RBI single to left that scored Charlie Yorgen, who walked to start the inning before moving around the bases on a ground out and a hit batter.
Brooks' bases clearing home run to right field extended Gold's lead to 9-0 in the fourth. With two outs in the frame, Justin Dirden walked, which was followed by a Lloyd single setting up Brooks' three-run homer.
Gold added single runs in the fifth (Watkins homer) and sixth (Yorgen RBI single) extending the lead to 11-0.
Kirk Morgan's groundout RBI in the seventh was Purple's (0-2) lone run of the day, which scored Kendall Ford.
