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Blue Wins Games 5 and 6, Forces Deciding Game 7
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Oct. 29, 2016
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Blue team evened up the 2016 Orange & Blue World Series after winning the second three-game series by taking Game 5, 8-7, on Tuesday and Game 6, 8-1, on Friday. Both teams have now won a series, setting up a deciding Game 7 at 1 p.m. Sunday (Oct. 30).
GAME 5
After jumping to a 6-1 lead in the third inning, the Blue held off a late Orange charge to earn an 8-7 win for its first victory of the series. Charlie Cody (Jr., Chesapeake, Va.) led the Blue’s 11-hit attack with a 4-for-4 day, including a pair of doubles, with three runs scored. Drew Blakely (Fr., Galesburg, Mich.) homered as part of a two-hit day for the Blue.
Jake McCarthy (So., Scranton, Pa.) had three hits and three runs for the Orange, while Ernie Clement (Jr., Rochester, N.Y.) was 2-for-2 and reached base safely in all four of his plate appearances.
Noah Murdock (Fr., Colonial Heights, Va.) started and earned the win for the Blue after working two innings and allowing one unearned run. Jack Roberts (Sr., Richmond, Va.) pitched the final two innings to earn the save. Jordan Dosey (Fr., Yucaipa, Calif.) took the loss for the Orange after starting and giving up four earned runs in 1 1/3 innings.
The Blue grabbed a 3-0 lead in the first inning. With one out and two on, Justin Novak (Jr., Tokyo, Japan) ripped a run-scoing double to left. Andy Weber (So., Aurora, Ohio) followed with a sac fly, and Blakely then hit an infield single to bring Novak home.
After the Orange scored in the bottom of the first on a Nate Eikhoff (So., Bristow, Va.) RBI groundout, the Blue pushed the lead to 5-1 in the second on RBI doubles from Pavin Smith (Jr., Jupiter, Fla.) and Cody before adding another run in the third on Blakely’s line drive homer just inside the left-field foul pole.
The Orange scored in its half of the third on Clement’s RBI single to plate McCarthy, but the Blue countered in the fourth on Weber’s RBI double to bring Cody home.
The Orange pushed three across in the fifth to cut its deficit to 7-5. A wild pitch brought Cayman Richardson (Fr., Mechanicsville, Va.) home, and Cameron Comer (So., Powell, Ohio) followed with a two-run single.
The Blue added an insurance run in the sixth on a squeeze bunt from Weber, and it was key as the Orange scored twice in the final inning, the seventh, on a two-run single from Jack Weiller (So., Waccabuc, N.Y.). The Orange had runners at the corners with two outs before Roberts induced a game-ending groundout from Richardson to end the game.
GAME 6
The Blue team broke open a tight game with a six-run sixth inning in earning an 8-1 win Friday night. The Blue’s pitching trio of Alec Bettinger (Sr., Woodbridge, Va.), Riley Wilson (Jr., Midlothian, Va.) and Roberts combined on a two-hitter.
Bettinger started and fired five innings of one-hit, one-run baseball to earn the win. Orange starter Derek Casey (Jr., Mechanicsville, Va.) worked five innings and allowed a pair of runs on five hits.
Smith, Weber and Jalen Harrison (Fr., Palmyra, Va.) each had two hits while combining to drive in all eight runs. Smith and Weber each had three RBI.
The Blue started fast, getting a leadoff double from Adam Haseley (Jr., Windermere, Fla.) and an RBI single from Smith.
The Orange evened things in the fourth on a Robbie Coman (Gr., Lake Worth, Fla.) sac fly, but the Blue countered in its half of the inning when Weber doubled home Cody.
The Blue used a long-ball barrage in the sixth inning, scoring six times while getting three homers to blow the game open. Weber, Harrison and Smith each hit two-run homers.
Orange and Blue World Series Format
All games will consist of either seven or nine innings, which will be determined prior to each game.
The seven games will be broken up into two three-game series (Games 1-3 and Games 4-6 are separate series) as well as a stand-alone Game 7. If a given team wins the first two games of either series, the third game of that series will be played based on run differential of the first two games to allow the trailing team a chance to still win the series. Each team is encouraged to score as many runs as possible and not worry about running up the score.
There is no admission charge for any of Virginia’s exhibition games or Orange and Blue World Series contests. Free parking will be available in the University Hall lot. Fans should enter Davenport Field for all fall games along the first-base line and not the main gate. The best route to reach this entrance is by using the road adjacent to the Lannigan Field track complex.
Orange & Blue World Series Schedule
Game 1: Orange 8, Blue 6 (7)
Game 2: Blue 6, Orange 6 (8)
Game 3: Orange 8, Blue 1 (7) (Orange wins first 3-game series)
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Game 4: Orange 8, Blue 3 (8)
Game 5: Blue 8, Orange 7 (7)
Game 6: Blue 8, Orange 1 (7) (Blue wins second 3-game series)
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Game 7: Sun., Oct. 30, 1 p.m.