Oct. 4, 2008

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Eric Charles scored the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly by Eric Nielsen with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Black squad a 5-4 win over the Gold team and a 2-0 edge in the annual Black and Gold Series at Lambert Field on Friday.

After the Team Gold rallied to tie the game at 4-4 with a single run in the top of the ninth, Charles led off the home half of the frame with a double to the gap in left-center. He advanced to third on the first out in the inning and narrowly beat Ben Wolgamot's off-balanced throw to the plate on Nielsen's shallow fly ball to right for the walk-off win.

Trailing 4-3 after eight complete, the Gold team knotted the game in the top of the ninth on an RBI single by Nick Overmeyer.

Ryan Bridges, who finished the game 4 for 4 with two RBIs, led off the inning with a single and came around to score on Overmeyer's base hit.

The Gold team threatened to take the lead later on in the ninth on a single by Wolgamot, but Rob McPike was thrown out at the plate by right fielder Jon Lilly to preserve the tie.

The Black squad jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, scoring a pair of runs in the second and one in the third, but the Gold team railed to cut the advantage to one with two runs in the fourth and tied the game at 3-3 with a lone run in the top of the sixth.

Team Black retook the lead 4-3 with a single run in the home half of the sixth and the score remained that way until the ninth.

Black reliever Jeff Straub (1-0) picked up the win on the mound, working a scoreless 2/3 of an inning in the ninth for his first victory of the B&GS. The right-hander allowed three hits, but did not allow a run after Lilly's outfield assist in the ninth.

Individually, Charles paced the Black team offensively, finishing 3 for 5 with a double, a triple and the game-winning run scored. Dominick D'Agata went 2 for 3 with a pair of RBIs for Team Black, while Brandon Haveman added two hits, including a double and an RBI, and David Blount scored a pair of runs in the win.

Bridges four-hit day highlighted the offense for the Gold team in the losing effort. Meanwhile, Dan Black hit his first home run of the B&GS in the sixth inning, Overmeyer finished 2 for 4 with the RBI in the ninth and Wolgamot chipped in by going 2 for 5 with a run scored.

On the mound, Gold southpaw Calvin Gunter struck out four in 1 2/3 innings of work.

The Black squad will attempt to ensure a B&GS win when the best-of-five series resumes on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. The game will be held at Lambert Field and admission is free.

Line Score

Score by Innings                    R   H   E
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Gold................ 000 201 001 -  4   13  2
Black............... 021 001 001 -  5   10  0
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Black and Gold Series Schedule/Results
Wednesday, October 1 - Team Black, 12-2
Friday, October 3 - Team Black, 5-4
Sunday, October 5 - 2:30 p.m.
Tuesday, October 7 - 4 p.m.
Thursday, October 9 - 4 p.m.
All games will be held at Lambert Field and are free to the public.
Standard NCAA rules apply for each of the nine-inning games.

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