White Team Wins 5-4 to Extend Fall World Series
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A bases-clearing double by Tucker Pennell in the third inning vaulted the White Team to a 5-4 victory on Saturday afternoon at Baum Stadium. With the win, the White Team avoided elimination in the Fall World Series and pulled to within 2-1 of the Red Team.
Blaine Knight started for the White Team and earned the win, pitching four scoreless innings with only three hits allowed. For the Red Team, Zach Jackson pitched 2.2 innings and allowed four unearned runs with two strikeouts.
After a throwing error by Michael Bernal to start the third inning, the White Team scratched out a run on a Clark Eagan sacrifice fly to left field. A walk to the next batter, Chad Spanberger, loaded the bases with two outs for Pennell, who laced a double to the right-center gap to score all three runners.
An inning later, the White Team went up five when Jake Arledge took a pitch deep to left field that just eluded the leaping effort of Luke Bonfield for a round-tripper. As the Red Team faced a 5-0 deficit going into the bottom of the fifth, they scratched away little by little, and eventually got the tying run to third base in the ninth.
The Red team put together some clutch at-bats late in the game, with a total of four two-out singles in the last five innings. Jack Benninghoff had two, in the fifth and seventh innings, Austin Catron had one in the eighth and Eric Cole had one while down to his last strike in the ninth.
But with two outs and runner on the corners in the ninth, White Team reliever Doug Willey got Bonfield to ground out to end the game and earn the save. So far, all three games in the Fall World Series have been a one-run game.
Play will continue on Sunday, Oct. 11 at 3 p.m., when the White Team will look to extend the series to a winner-take-all Game 5.
Fall World Series Schedule
Game 1 – Red 5, White 4
Game 2 – Red 7, White 6
Game 3 – White 5, Red 4
Game 4 – Sunday, Oct. 11 at 3 p.m.
Game 5* – Tuesday, Oct. 13 at 2 p.m.
* if necessary
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