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Baseball Wraps Up Purple-Gold World Series

by gohuskies.com
Nov 2, 2021

SEATTLE -- The Washington baseball team recently wrapped up its Purple and Gold World Series, the competitive culmination of weeks of fall practice.

This years version pitted the Purple team, led by head coach and general manager Joe Meggs against the Gold team, led by head coach Andy Jenkins and general manager Jacob Hatloe. 

Early in the week, players gathered in the Omaha Room at Husky Ballpark and had their names called in the draft. With the teams set, action got underway on Wednesday. 

Game 1
The first game proved to be a spectacle of pitching, highlighted by freshman Calvin Kirchoff. He threw 4.0 scoreless innings to help lead Purple to a 2-0 win and jump ahead in the series.
 

 
Game 2 
The Husky bats woke up in game two, where Gold got in on the action first. Already holding a 1-0 lead, Nick Hovland ripped a two-run home run to left-center field that gave his side a 3-0 advantage. With his Purple side down 4-1 in the second inning, Will Simpson would take matters into his own hands. He launched a grand slam that would set the tone for the rest of the series and put his team up 5-4. 
 

Purple wasn't done with the offensive fireworks, as they would extend their lead the next inning. Karl Koerper flexed his well-known power with a solo home run over the right field fence. Just moments after Koerper finished his home run trot, Cal State Fullerton transfer Josh Urps rocketed a ball to nearly the same exact spot to make it a 7-4 lead for Purple. 

Purple would hold onto that lead and give the ball to Jack Enger for the seventh and final inning. Holding a 10-6 lead, Enger would toss a scoreless frame to give his team a 2-0 lead in the series. 
 

 
Game 3
Looking to close out its opponent in quick fashion, the Purple team came out swinging in the third game. Urps got his team on the board first with an RBI double in the second inning. 
 

After a couple of fielding errors gave Gold a lead, Will Simpson did his part to get Purple back in it, launching a home run for the second straight game. 
 

A Luke Rohleder sac fly to score Karl Koerper would tie the game at 3-3, before Case Matter entered from the bullpen for the Gold team. Matter would shut down the Purple lineup, finishing the day with five strikeouts in 2.2 innings of scoreless relief. 

In the top of the seventh, true freshman AJ Guerrero provided the moment of the day for Gold, blasting a go-ahead solo home run to left field. 
 

Holding a 4-3 lead, Peysen Sweeney would take the mound for the bottom of the seventh and earn the save. 
 

 
Game 4 
With weather causing there to only be four games instead of five, Sunday's game four would be key in deciding the winner of the series. With Purple holding a 2-1 lead, a Purple win would end the series. If Gold were to win the six-inning game, the two sides would go on to extra innings to decide a series winner. 

The freshmen continued to rake for Gold, with Colby Wallace opening up the scoring with a two-run home run in the second inning. McKay Barney would double the lead for Gold when he lined a two-RBI double down the left field line. Gold looked primed to force a decisive extra inning. 

However, Will Simpson once again would not be denied at the plate. For the third straight game, Simpson went yard, this one a 2-run shot to cut the Gold lead in half. 
 

The Gold bullpen would shut things down after that, with Stefan Raeth locking down the save in the sixth inning for a 4-3 win. 

With a decisive extra inning to decide the winner, a coin flip resulted in Purple being the home team and Gold batting first in the extra inning, which started with a runner placed on second base. That proved to be no issue for Calvin Kirchoff. With the go-ahead run on third base, Kirchoff got a strikeout looking to end the frame, much to the delight of the Purple dugout. 
 

With a chance to walk it off in the bottom half, a passed ball would give Purple a chance to win it. Coby Morales would make quick work, lifting a deep fly ball for a walk-off sac fly to give Purple the series win 
 

The Purple and Gold World Series saw a number of young Huskies have standout performances, including Calvin Kirchoff on the mound and players like AJ Guerrero and Colby Wallace with the bat. It also saw a number of transfers in Coby Morales, Josh Urps and McKay Barney showcase their abilities. 

At the end of the week, however, all of the glory went to the Purple team and head coach/GM Joe Meggs. 
 

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