MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA - Christian Encarnacion-Strand helped College Park erase the sting of a first round loss at the Elite Eight Classic, going 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles to lead the Falcons past Palma, 7-4, in Wednesday morning's consolation bracket play.
College Park got to Palma starter Colin Neff early in the game, scoring four times in the top of the first inning, and surviving a three-run response by the Chieftains in the bottom half of the inning.
A double by Encarnacion-Strand and a run-scoring single by AJ Speer were the big blows for College Park in the top half of the inning, while Zachary Davis and Sam Stoutenborough had run-scoring doubles for Palma in the bottom half.
Ian Torres and Lucas Johnson added run-scoring singles for the Falcons in each of the next two innings, as the College Park lead grew to 6-3 after three innings of play. Palma cut the deficit to 6-4 in the bottom of the fourth, but Encarnacion-Strand singled to drive in another run in the top of the sixth, part of a 13-hit attack for the Falcons' offense.