/
.
Baseball
Orange Wins Orange & Blue World Series
Nov. 5, 2017
Twitter: @UVABaseball | Coach O’Connor Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – For the third year in a row, Orange was crowned Orange and Blue World Series champions. Orange used a 4-0 victory in game six on Friday (Nov. 3) and held off Blue in game seven, 9-6 to capture the series.
Game 6
Despite a stellar outing from senior Bennett Sousa (North Palm Beach, Fla.) on the mound, Blue was unable to put a dent in the run differential deficit, allowing Orange to capture the second portion of the series (games 4-6).
Sousa fanned seven batters in five shutout innings to earn his second win of the series. In his three appearances (two starts), he totaled 11.2 innings pitched, 14 strikeouts and did not allow a run. The left-hander walked only three batters this fall and scattered eight hits.
Blue did its damage at the plate with a three-run fourth inning. Freshman Tanner Morris (Crozet, Va.) was responsible for two of the three runs after a two-RBI single to left field that scored Alex Tappen (Lower Gwynedd, Pa.) and Caleb Knight (Checotah, Okla.). Morris later scored on a fielder’s choice to give Blue a 3-0 lead.
Jalen Harrison (Palmyra, Va.) brought home the game’s final run, scoring Andy Weber (Aurora, Ohio) on a sacrifice fly to center field in the top of the seventh inning.
All but two batters in Blue’s 10-man lineup registered a hit. Knight and Tappen each went 2-for-3 with a run scored. Will Allocca (Richmond, Va.) recorded two of Orange’s three hits on the day.
Game 7
Orange scored the first nine runs of the game with five coming in its first turn at bat. The first five batters reached safely before Blue recorded its first out. Orange sent nine batters to the plate and scored five runs on five hits in the first frame.
The lead grew to 9-0 thanks to two-run doubles by Allocca and Jake McCarthy (Scranton, Pa.) in the bottom of the third inning.
Blue began to mount a comeback with two runs in each of the final three innings. Tappen was responsible for four of Orange’s 11 hits. He finished the game 4-for-4 with run scored and an RBI.
Reliever Chesdin Harrington (Montpelier, Va) kept Orange off the board with three scoreless innings. He faced 12 batters, struck out three and walked one.
The seven games were broken up into two, three-game series (Games 1-3 and Games 4-6 were separate series) as well as a stand-alone Game 7. If a given team won the first two games of either series, the third game of that series was played based on run differential of the first two games to allow the trailing team a chance to still win the series.
2017 Orange & Blue World Series Results
Game 1 — Orange 3, Blue 2
Game 2 — Orange 5, Blue 4
Game 3 — Blue 5, Orange 0 (Blue wins series based on run differential)
—
Game 4 — Orange 10, Blue 1
Game 5 – Orange 5, Blue 3
Game 6 – Blue 4, Orange, 0 F/7 (Orange wins series)
—-
Game 7 – Orange 9, Blue 6 (Orange wins series)
Blue and Orange World Series Champions (Since 2003)
2017 – Orange
2016 – Orange
2015 – Orange
2014 – Blue
2013 – Blue
2012 – Orange
2011 – Blue
2010 – Orange
2009 – Orange
2008 – Blue
2007 – Blue
2006 – Orange
2005 – Orange
2004 – Orange
2003 – Blue
Orange leads 9-6