MONROE, La.-Perry Smith hit a
two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning to rally the Maroon Team for a
13-10 victory in game one of the ULM Maroon & Gold Blood Series Monday
night at Warhawk Field.
The Gold Team took a 10-8 lead
with a six-run seventh inning before Maroon battled back with four in the top
of the eighth and one in the ninth.
Boomer Blanchard started the
rally for Maroon with a lead-off single. After moving to second on a passed
ball and third on a stolen base, he scored on a Judd Edwards single back up the
middle - Edwards finished 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs.
Edwards stole second and third
base and scored the tying run on Josh Chappell's single through the left-side
of the infield. A walk to Jake Mizell set up Smith's game-winning home run to
right field off Wil Browning.
Caleb Clowers finished 3-for-6
with a pair of runs scored and three RBIs to lead the Gold Team, while Matt
Laird and Kelvin York also had three hits each.
Jarrett Hammond, Chris
Sinclair, Zach Steed and Blanchard all had two hits for the Maroon team.
Sinclair and Steed gave Maroon
a 6-0 with three RBIs each over the first three innings. In the second inning a
pair of walks and a hit batter loaded the bases for Sinclair, who responded
with a two-run single to left field. Steed followed with a single to center to
plate Shane Ardoin.
Sinclair and Steed struck
again in the third inning for three more Maroon runs. Sinclair doubled down the
right-field line to score Smith after he reached on a fielding error and Steed
followed with a two-run single to center.
The Gold Team finally broke
through in the third inning thanks to an RBI-single to center by Laird. Clowers
scored on the play after reaching on a single and moving to second on a walk.
York hit the first home run of
the night with a line drive shot to left-center for the Gold Team's second run
of the night.
Ardoin earned the win
for Maroon throwing an inning of scoreless relief. James Jones pitched a scoreless
ninth to earn the save. Browning suffered the loss for Gold allowing a pair of
runs on two hits in 0.2 innings of work.
The teams will play game two
of the series Tuesday night at 6 p.m. Don Williams will get the start for
Maroon and Stefan Comeaux will get the nod for Gold.
