Gold Turns in Career Day as Keys Top Salem – Frederick Keys Game Recap
Tad Gold MiLB Bio
FREDERICK, Md. – Former Endicott baseball standout Tad Gold '14 (Vineyard Haven, Mass.) swatted his first professional homerun on Sunday afternoon for the Frederick Keys, the Class A Advanced affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles out of the Carolina League, a three-run shot over the right field wall at Nymeo Field to help the Keys secure a 6-2 win over the Salem Red Sox.
Gold's historic homerun came in his 26th game in the Orioles minor league system since leaving Endicott as one of the most decorated players in program history after winning back-to-back CCC Championships and making the NCAA New England Regional Finals in both 2013 and 2014 to end his collegiate career. Gold came up to Class A Advanced Frederick from Short-Season A affiliate Aberdeen one week ago and in two games for the Keys has four hits in eight at bats with a homerun, a double, three RBI, and a run scored. In his 26 games in the minors, Gold is batting .159 with 11 hits in 69 at bats, five extra-base hits, 13 walks, seven runs, four RBI, and a stolen base.
On Sunday, Frederick took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth and tacked on an unearned run in the fifth before Salem got one back in the top of the sixth to make it a 3-1 game. Gold provided some much needed insurance for the Keys in the bottom half of the sixth with a three-run homer off of Ty Buttrey, a fourth round selection by the Boston Red Sox in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft out of Providence (N.C.) High School.
In 2014, Gold was the D3Baseball.com Player of the Year as well as Player of the Year regionally for D3Baseball.com All-New England, ECAC New England, NEIBA All-New England and at the conference level as CCC Player of the Year. The three-time All-CCC honoree finished his career as Endicott's all-time leading in hits (222), runs (163), stolen bases (94), and triples (23) while hitting .355 in 178 collegiate games. Gold had five career homeruns in college, three as a sophomore in 2012 and two as a junior in 2013.
Gold and the Frederick Keys return to action on Monday evening for the final game of their series with the Salem Red Sox starting at 7:00 p.m. at Nymeo Field in Frederick, Maryland.
