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Orange Rallies to Top Blue in Game One, 7-4
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Orange team scored six straight runs in rallying from an early three-run deficit to record a 7-4 victory over the Blue Monday evening in game one of the Orange and Blue World Series at Davenport Field.
The teams will play game two of the series at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
The two teams combined for 25 hits. John Hicks went 3-for-5 with an RBI for the Orange, while Chris Taylor was 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI. Tyler Biddix added had two hits and an RBI.
For the Blue, the 3-5 hitters combined to go 8-for-15, as Danny Hultzen went 2-for-5 and Reed Gragnani and John Barr each had three hits. David Coleman also had two RBI. The Blue had 14 hits but left a dozen runners on base.
Chad O’Connor earned the win for the Orange with three innings of one-run relief. Kevin Arico pitched two scoreless innings to earn the save. Justin Thompson allowed two runs and three hits over 1.2 innings and took the loss for the Blue.
The Blue got off to a strong start with three runs in the first inning on an RBI single by Barr and a two-run triple to left-center by Coleman. Blue starter Cody Winiarski settled down from there and rebounded to pitch three scoreless innings.
The Orange, after getting just one hit through the first four frames against Blue starter Danny Hultzen, broke through with a pair of runs in the fifth on an RBI triple by Shane Halley and a run-scoring single by Taylor. Hultzen went 4.2 innings before getting lifted because of the pitch count.
In the seventh, the Orange scored four times to grab the lead. Levine led off with a double to right. He advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Shane Halley and scored when Taylor launched a triple to right-center. Keith Werman, facing reliever Aaron Stull, then laid down a squeeze bunt and beat it out for a single to plate Taylor and give the Orange a 4-3 lead. Hicks and Biddix followed with run-scoring singles to push the lead to 6-3.
The Blue got a run back in the eighth inning on an RBI groundout by Cannon, but the Orange answered with a run in the ninth on a sacrifice fly by Stephen Bruno.
Orange & Blue World Series (all games are at 6 p.m.)
Game 1: Orange 7, Blue 4
Game 2: Tuesday, October 6
Game 3: Thursday, October 8
Game 4: Tuesday, October 13
Game 5: Thursday, October 15
Game 6: Friday, October 16
(Ring Ceremony/Celebration of 2009 Team/Youth Baseball Day)
Game 7: Tuesday, October 20