On Sunday, Vanderbilt played the first game of its annual David Williams Fall Classic at Hawkins Field. Team Gold beat Team Black 3-2 in the first seven-inning contest of the best-of-three series. Standouts included Bryce Cunningham’s four scoreless innings, a homer by Logan Poteet and a walk-off homer by Matt Ossenfort.
“It was a good game,” senior outfielder Calvin Hewett said. “A one-run game ended on one swing and so it’s a freshman good swing. But yeah, it’s been really good. It’s better to have more competition than than not.”
Greysen Carter started on the mound for Team Gold against Cunningham for Team Black.
Team Black struck first in the top of the first inning. Hewett singled to right field and stole second base before being driven in on a hit by freshman Camden Kozeal.
Carter faced 13 hitters in 3 innings, allowing 1 earned run on 4 hits with 2 strikeouts and no walks and a hit-by-pitch. Cunningham pitched 4 scoreless innings and faced 14 hitters, allowing 2 hits with 1 walks and 4 strikeouts.
With Sawyer Hawks on the mound for Team Black, Team Gold tied the score in the bottom of the fifth inning. Jacob Humphrey was hit by a pitch and scored from first on a Colin Barczi hit that was muffed in center field by Hewett, making it 1-1. Hewett made up for the error in that inning with a diving catch that robbed Jack Bulger of an RBI.
Sophomore Andrew Dutkanych IV pitched for Team Gold after missing most of the spring with an injury. Dutkanych IV covered 2.2 innings, allowing no runs on 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out 6.
In the bottom of the sixth, Team Gold led off the inning with a double by RJ Austin to put the go-ahead run in scoring position. After Troy LaNeve took a walk and Diaz struck out, Hawks was taken out for freshman Brennan Seiber. Austin stole third and then scored on an infield single by Raymond Velazquez to put Team Gold up 2-1.
In the top of the seventh with one out, Poteet launched a home run over the left-field wall to tie the game at 2-2 off Ethan McElvain. Freshman Ossenfort responded in the bottom of the seventh with an opposite-field blast over that same wall to walk it off for the 3-2 win.
“I got a fastball over the plate I knew I could handle, and I just took a swing at it,” Ossenfort said.
The VandyBoys will return for game 2 of the series on Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 4 p.m. CST.
