Cameron Dean was 2-for-4 and knocked in four runs as the American team defeated the National squad 11-8 in the first game of the best-of-three playoff series in the Kentucky Prospects Collegiate Baseball League.
The American team trailed 4-0 and 7-3 before taking the lead with a five-run fifth inning then adding three more runs in the sixth Monday night at Brooks Stadium in Paducah.
Jase Felker was 2-for-3 with an RBI and Welsee Choate was 2-for-4 and drove home two runs as the American team grabbed a 1-0 lead in the playoffs.
Monday’s game can started an hour and a half late after heavy rains moved through the Paducah area just as the game was scheduled to begin at 6:30.
Corbin Guthman, the second of three American pitchers, picked up the win on the mound. He went four innings, allowing three earned runs on four base hits. He struck out seven but walked five.
Ty Ramey pitched a scoreless inning in relief, striking out two and walking one.
The American team outhit the National squad 10-5.
No one had more than one base hit for the National team. Trent Shelby had the game’s only extra-base hit with a double, going 1-for-2 with two RBIs. Will Thompson was 1-for-1 and walked three times while knocking in two runs.
The American team can bring an end to the Collegiate Baseball League with a win in game two on Wednesday.
Game three, if necessary, is tentatively scheduled for Friday.
