Tony DeCarlo had resigned himself to the notion that he never was going to get a hit against Ralston Valley's skyscraping pitcher Matt Skipper.

The best the Golden shortstop had done in three seasons against the right-hander was a flyout to right field, but DeCarlo got an unexpected final opportunity Sunday at Coors Field in the Colorado Rockies Senior Top 50 Game.

With the bases loaded and a tie score in the bottom of the seventh, DeCarlo lashed a single through a drawn-in infield to give the Purple team an 8-7 win against the Silver.

"I was looking first-pitch fastball and that's what I got, so I hit it back up the middle," DeCarlo said. "It wasn't that hard of a hit, but it won the game. I've always wanted to get a hit off Skipper and I did, finally."

The Silver trailed 7-4 entering the bottom of the seventh but put together a rally started by successive singles by Air Academy teammates Ron Burton and Ross Yeager. Skipper, who will play at San Diego State next season, entered with the score 7-6 and the bases loaded with no out.

Adam Leverette of Fossil Ridge greeted him with a tying RBI single, setting up DeCarlo's at-bat.

The hit made winners of Rocky Mountain coach Scott Bullock and Eaton coach Jim Danley, who guided the Purple, and Air Academy pitcher Dexter Price.

The Auburn-bound Price pitched a scoreless top of the seventh.

"We weren't expecting to be down," said Price, who had 10 wins during the season. "Our attitude was to come out strong and get it. But it felt awesome to come back and win like that and end my career on a great note."

Despite the loss, the Silver team definitely had the loudest hits.

Pueblo Central's Dion DeHerrera bashed a three-run home run over the 390- foot marker in left- center in the third, and in the sixth, Erie's Shane Wade clubbed a two-run triple and Niwot's Ben Packard laced a two-run double.

"I sprained my ankle (Saturday), so all I wanted to do was make some contact and have someone pinch run for me," DeHerrera said. "But I decided to keep my weight back and just crush it. It felt real good, especially here and in front of my family."

The Silver was coached by Ralston Valley's Shane Freehling, Custer County's Steve Schultz and Eads' Billy Koehler. Calhan pitcher Ben Doran took the loss in relief.

Purple 8, Silver 7

Silver003 004 0 - 7 10 4

Purple110 011 4 - 8 11 0

S (ab-r-h-rbi) - Glime 2-1-1-0, Ochoa 2-1-2-0, Wade 2-1-1-2, Doran 2-0-0-0, Hansen 1-1-0-0, Jackson 1-0-0-0, Packard 2-0-1-2, Rodriguez 2-0-0-0, Steinmetz 1-1-0-0, Cain 2-1-2-0, DeHerrera 1-1-1-3, Jacobs 2-0-0-0, Skipper 2-0-0-0, Barban 1-0-1-0, Ogawa 1-0-1-0, Wall 1-0-0-0, Winder 0-0-0-0, Baros 1-0-0-0, Gooden 1-0-0-0, Martinez 1-0-0-0, Popick 1-0-0-0. Pitching (ip-h-r-er-bb-k) - Whittemore 1-2-1-1-0-1, Steinmetz 1-1-1-1-0-0, Hansen 1-0-0-0-0- 2, Jackson 1-2-0-0-0-1, Packard 1-2-1-1-1-1, Rodri- guez 1-1-1-0-0-0, Doran (L) 0-2-4-3-2-0, Skipper 0-2- 0-0-0-0.

P - Rianoshek 2-0-1-0, Davis 1-0-0-0, Zaruba 2-1- 1-0, Kelly 2-0-1-1, Price 2-1-1-0, Thornburg 2-0-0-0, Castiglione 2-1-1-0, Burton 1-1-1-1, Yeager 2-1-1-1, Capra 1-1-0-0, Koepsell 2-1-0-0, Hulce 1-0-0-0, Leverette 2-0-1-1, DeCarlo 2-0-1-1, O'Connor 1-0-0-0, Percy 1-0-1-0, Higgans 1-0-0-0, Olsson 1-0-0-0, Smith 1-1-1-0. Pitching - Ottoson 1-1-0-0-0-0, Garduno 1- 0-0-0-0-0, Hulce 1-2-3-3-1-0, Zaruba 1-2-0-0-0-1, Smith 1-0-0-0-1-2, Tallman 1-4-4-4-0-3, Price (W) 1- 1-0-0-1-2.

E - Ogawa, Gooden, Cain, Winder. LOB - Silver 5, Purple 4. 2B - Ochoa, Packard, Barban, Zaruba. 3B - Wade, Kelly, Castiglione. HR - DeHerrera. SB - Winder, Smith, Rianoshek. HBP - Hansen.