GU's Hughes starts in final Collegiate National Team Stars vs. Stripes game
7/15/2021 7:18:00 PM | Baseball
BLUEFIELD, W.Va. — Gonzaga sophomore right-hander Gabriel Hughes earned his third start in the U.S. Collegiate National Team's final Stars vs. Stripes game Thursday evening at Bowen Field, getting through the first inning with just ten pitches en route to a 11-4 loss to team Stripes. Nevertheless, Hughes' Stars are the overall winners of the 11-game intrasquad series, which included a tour of all 10 Appalachian League stadiums, finishing with a record of 7-4.
Facing off against the top five of the Stripes order — all of whom are batting above .300 in the series — Hughes induced three groundouts in the short inning, allowing one run on two hits but stranding a runner on base before the Stars put up all 11 runs over the next six frames to pull ahead for good.
In three starts with seven total innings pitched for the Stars, Hughes has not been tagged for a loss, striking out two and walking one while holding opposing batters to a .250 average overall. The 6'4 righty was one of three players to make Collegiate Baseball's Freshman All-America Team as a Multiple Position Athlete after a spring where he went 4-3 as a starter with a 3.23 ERA. In 2021, Hughes struck out 67 batters in a total of 61.1 innings of work while doing double duty as a first baseman, hitting .247 with 4 doubles, 3 homers and 12 RBI.
With the Stars vs. Stripes series concluded, the Collegiate National Team now regroups for a three-game series against the USA Professional Team set to compete at the Tokyo Olympics, beginning July 18 at 3:30 p.m. at the USA Baseball National Training Complex. Streaming will be available via USA Baseball on Facebook.
