DURHAM, N.C. – Dylan Crews (LSU) and Jacob Wilson (Grand Canyon) each hit home runs over the Blue Monster as the Stars cruised to a 4-1 victory over the Stripes to take a two-game advantage in the series on Friday night at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
Rhett Lowder (Wake Forest) was fantastic in his first start for the red, white, and blue, finishing with six punchouts in three strong innings, allowing just one unearned run on three hits to pick up the win.
Hurston Waldrep, Cade Kuehler (Campbell), and Brenton Fisher (Longwood) followed with six shutout innings, combining to yield just three hits the rest of the way.
Waldrep fanned three in three innings while Kuehler struck out two in his two frames. Fisher picked up the first save by either team this summer after pitching a scoreless ninth.
KEY MOMENTS
- In the bottom of the first, Hudson White (Texas Tech) accomplished something no other player in the country can say they have done this year when he gunned down Enrique Bradfield (Vanderbilt) trying to steal second. Bradfield was a perfect 46-of-46 in stolen base attempts during the 2022 season with the Commodores.
- After a scoreless first, Dylan Crews (LSU) got the scoring started as he followed a Jacob Gonzalez (Ole Miss) leadoff double with a two-run, 413-foot blast that cleared the famous bull above the Blue Monster in left field.
- The Stripes got one of those runs back in the next frame when Maui Ahuna (Tennessee) lifted an RBI double to right-center.
- Jacob Wilson (Grand Canyon) answered back immediately, however, blasting a leadoff homer over the Blue Monster to push the Stars’ lead back to two at 3-1.
- The game’s final tally came in the bottom of the fifth. Back-to-back singles to open the frame by Jack Payton (Louisville) and Jacob Wilson (Grand Canyon) and a passed ball in between put runners on the corners with nobody out. A 4-6-3 double play erased one baserunner but Payton was able to scamper home to account for the game’s final score of 4-1.
- The Stars threatened to add to their lead in the bottom of the seventh when a pair of walks and a single by Brayden Taylor (TCU) loaded the bases but Jason Savacool (Maryland) was able to induce a groundout to escape unharmed.
- The Stripes actually brought the tying run to the plate in the top of the ninth after an error and a walk but Brenton Fisher (Longwood) buckled down and got a groundball to second to end the game and secure the save.
NOTABLE INFORMATION
- Six Stars players recorded at least one hit, led by a 2-for-2 effort by Jacob Wilson (Grand Canyon).
- Stars starting pitcher Rhett Lowder (Wake Forest) struck out five of the first seven batters that he faced, including three of four in the top of the first inning.
- Four of the Stripes’ six hits came from the top two hitters in their lineup as Wyatt Langford (Florida) and Maui Ahuna (Tennessee) had two hits each in the contest.
- The Stars and Stripes catchers combined to throw out three of four potential basestealers in the contest.
- With the win, the Stars take a 2-0 lead in the five-game series which also includes two more games in Durham, N.C., and one in Charlotte, N.C.
ON DECK
- Saturday, July 2: Stars vs. Stripes (5:05 p.m. ET; 7 innings at Durham Bulls Athletic Park)
SOCIAL MEDIA
- Stay tuned to @USABaseballCNT on Twitter for the most up-to-date news about the 2022 Collegiate National Team Training Camp.
