Final score : 16-2 .
Which set up a winner-take-all final between two 3-1 teams .
Game 5 : And Showdown .
When Bluefield State and Xavier faced off the third time , odds leaned in favor of the Gold Rush .
They had rebounded from the loss two days before , winning two to face the Big Blue in a do-or-die game . Then routed them just an hour before .
Austin Stambaugh was on the mound for Bluefield State . This was his first pitching appearance in the Series . The right-hander came in with an ERA north of 6.00 .
Facing him was Gold Rush starter Anthony Dumas with a 2.79 ERA .
Stambaugh started strong , putting down the Gold Rush in order at the top of the first .
After JR McRee lined out to start the Big Blue ’ s half of the inning , Tanner Brandon walked . Then Moxey walked . Then Sizemore . Then Taylor Tibbs , scoring Brandon . Then Roman Moore , scoring Moxey .
And that was all for Dumas . But not for the Big Blue .
Jamal Allen relieved and promptly walked Noah Wooten which plated Sizemore with a third run . CJ Cooper followed with a come-backer to Allen who threw to first for the second out , Tibbs scoring .
Reviello , batting ninth , singled home Wooten and Cooper . McRee followed with another single before Brandon lined out to short and ended the inning .
Six runs , courtesy of six walks and a two-RBI single . Suddenly , the Big Blue were the ones in command .
The Gold Rush got one back in the second on an error followed by a triple from designated hitter Danny Coleman .
Bluefield State negated that with an RBI triple by Moxey in the fourth .
Xavier added one more in the fifth to finish the scoring .
Stambaugh finished strong , too , pitching a complete game for the win , the game ending on the double play by Cooper and Tibbs . Game . Set . Match .
In far-away Montgomery , a baseball team that battled through repeated adversity came together to claim their own field of dreams : A championship at the first-ever Black College World Series .
FINAL SCORE : 7-2 BIG BLUE . Champs !
In far-away Montgomery , a baseball team that battled through repeated adversity came together to claim their own field of dreams : A championship at the first-ever Black College World Series .
They won four games in four days . Beat the top seed twice . Took advantage of opportunity when they had it .
And , perhaps most importantly , never lost their cool or their confidence when it mattered most .
This Big Blue team is one for the ages and earned the right to be remembered for what they are : Champions .
Stambaugh made sure they stayed way .
66 BLUE AND GOLD