Oct. 28, 2009

Game 3: Red 10, White 4 | Box Score   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9  R  H E  White 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 4 5 4  Red 3 0 0 2 2 1 1 1 x 10 11 1  Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO  W - Shore (1-0) 4.1 5 4 4 3 4  L - Verhagen (0-1) 3.0 2 3 2 2 5  S - Winn (1) 4.2 0 0 0 0 5  Batting Leaders AB R H RBI BB HR  White - Pritchard 4 0 1 1 0 0  Red - White 4 1 2 3 1 1

NORMAN, Okla. -- Casey Johnson, Chris Ellison and Max White all homered Wednesday afternoon as Red claimed a 10-4 win in game three of the Red/White Series.  Red has won two straight games and owns a 2-1 series lead heading into game four on Friday.

The offense helped sure up the win for Red  starter Bobby Shore, who had four strikeouts in the first four innings and just two runs allowed.  Kennedy Winn pitched the four-inning save after Shore allowed two runs in the fifth.  Winn was perfect throughout 4.2 innings and finished with a game-high five strikeouts.

“I felt like this was a statement game,” said Red captain Ross Hubbard.  “Bobby shore pounded the zone and Kennedy Winn was nails in working all three pitches.  This was a crucial win.  Now, we are focused on Friday’s game.”

Johnson, who homered twice in game two, led off the bottom of the first with his third of the series.  The solo shot came off White starter Drew Verhagen, who lasted three innings in his start and settled down after the three-run first with five strikeouts.  Drew Harrison continued the scoring in the first and followed Johnson with a RBI single two batters later.  Ross Hubbard capped off the three-run first with a sacrifice fly to center field.

In the top half of the second, White cut the lead to two runs on Tyler Brady’s sacrifice fly.  Two innings later, the lead was down to one as Kaleb Herren’s two-out single up the middle scored Bryan Groth, who doubled earlier in the frame.

Up 3-2, Red countered and extended its lead with two runs in the bottom half of the fourth on Chris Ellison’s two-run home run. 

The teams exchanged a pair of runs in the fifth as White scored on a wild pitch and Jarek Pritchard’s RBI single in the top half.  In the bottom of the fifth, Red again countered as Max White struck again, this time on a two-run double.

Red plated a single run in sixth, seventh and eighth innings, highlighted by Max White’s solo shot in the seventh.  White had a game-high three RBIs and was joined by Johnson, Ellison and Matt Mayes with two hits apiece.

“I was proud of the way our guys fought back after that rough first inning.  Verhagen settled down and we came back with some timely hits,” said White captain Jeremy Erben.  “We need to clean up our play in the field a little bit and we are looking for a strong performance from Ryan Gibson in game four to even the series.”

Game four is slated for Friday as Ryan Gibson (White) will start opposite Jason Chowning (Red).  Game time is yet to be determined.