PEMBROKE – Derek Funk tallied four hits on five trips to the plate to pace a 14-hit attack for the Gold team as it completed an improbable 3-game comeback in UNCP's annual Fall World Series with a dominant 8-1 victory over the Black team in Game 7 of the event Wednesday afternoon at Sammy Cox Field.
Funk hit two doubles, drove in a pair and scored twice to highlight a 4-for-5 hitting performance, with three of his teammates registering multi-hit tallies as well. Seth Kivett doubled in a pair of runs and crossed the plate once on a 3-for-4 tally, while Jason Coker and Matt Ingold both exhibited 2-for-4 outings. Newcomer Travis Walters led the Black team with a 2-for-3 hitting line.
Tyler Wood (2-0) struck out nine and yielded just three hits over seven innings from the mound to grab his second win of the Series, with reliever Andrew MacDonald slamming the door on any comeback efforts by allowing striking out three and allowing just one hit in two innings from the hill. Black starter Rudy Brown (0-2) offset six strikeouts by allowing eight hits and a pair of runs (one earned) in six innings.
The first two innings had all the looks of a dog fight as Gold tallied runs in each frame to haul a 2-1 lead into the third. Five quiet innings would follow before Gold unleashed any and all frustrations that came from dropping three of the first four games of the series by putting two runs on the board in the eighth and four more in the ninth.
Black got their lone run of the game on Keith Whitman's leadoff homer in the second, but could not muster anything else the rest of the way out, collecting just lone hits in the third, fifth and ninth innings
Funk garnered Fall World Series Most Valuable Player honors after hitting .444 (12-for-27) with six extra-base hits (2 HR) and nine RBI. Standouts for the Gold team in the series also included pitchers Billy Dudding (6.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 2 saves), Justin Yow (1-1, 1.50 ERA) and Wood (2-0, 4.50 ERA).
Black was led offensively in the series by Whitman's .318 (7-for-22) batting average that complemented two home runs and six RBI. The Black team was led from the mound by all-American Matt McGovern (1-1, 1.93 ERA) and reliever Brantley Hattrich (6.0 IP, 1.50 ERA, 1 Save).