Blue Walks Off with 3-2 Win to Claim Orange & Blue World Series
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Oct. 20, 2013
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Matt Thaiss (Fr., Jackson, N.J.) hit a two-run walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Blue team to a 3-2 win over the Orange squad in the deciding Game 7 of the 2013 Orange & Blue World Series Sunday afternoon at Davenport Field. The Blue claimed the series, four games to three, and won three of the final four games in the hotly-contested series.
Five of the seven games, including each of the last four, were decided by one run.
Thaiss went 1-for-3 and reached base three times Sunday. He was the top hitter on either squad in the series, batting .444 (12-for-27) with six RBI. Robbie Coman (Fr., Lake Worth, Fla.) went 3-for-3 for the Orange team.
David Rosenberger (So., Bethlehem, Pa.) worked four scoreless innings to earn the win out of the Blue bullpen. Austin Young (Sr.,, Mechanicsville, Va.) gave up a pair of ninth-inning runs as part of his 3 2/3-inning stint in taking the loss for Team Orange.
Both freshman starting pitchers gave their respective teams strong starts. Blue starter Connor Jones (Chesapeake, Va.) allowed two runs and five hits while striking out a pair over five innings. Orange starter Jack Roberts (Richmond, Va.) hurled 4 1/3 innings, giving up a run, two hits and four walks with two strikeouts.
The Blue jumped out quickly with a run in the first inning while benefiting from control problems by Roberts, who walked three batters in the inning. The third, a free pass to Daniel Pinero (Fr., Toronto, Ontario), forced in a run.
The Orange tied the game in the fourth inning on a two-out RBI single to right-center by George Ragsdale (So., North Port, Fla.) and moved ahead in the fifth when Jones balked in Branden Cogswell (Jr., Ballston Lake, N.Y.).
The Blue had just four baserunners in the second through eighth innings, but all four batters who stepped to the plate in the ninth inning went on to reach base. Thomas Woodruff (Jr., Clifton, Va.) lined a double down to left-field line to lead off – the lone extra-base hit of the contest. After Mike Papi (Jr., Tunkhannock, Pa.) walked, John La Prise (So., Exton, Pa.) bunted his way on against Kevin Doherty (So., Laytonsville, Md.) to load the bases. Thaiss then bounced a single through the right side of the infield to score Woodruff and Papi for the walk-off win.
Orange & Blue World Series Schedule
Game 1: Orange 5, Blue 4
Game 2: Orange 8, Blue 4
Game 3: Blue 5, Orange 3 (Orange wins first mini-series, 2-1)
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Game 4: Orange 5, Blue 4
Game 5: Blue 5, Orange 4
Game 6: Blue 7, Orange 6 (Blue wins second mini-series, 2-1)
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Game 7: Blue 3, Orange 2 (Blue wins Orange & Blue World Series)