Here is your October 17th Fall Ball Update.
North Carolina: Blue 6 White 0
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The Blue Team claimed its second straight series and wrapped up the Fall World Series Sunday afternoon as they claimed a 6-0 win over the White Team. Andrew Smith notched the win tossing 5.1 innings of shutout ball while striking out 10.
Smith picked up some early run support from his team as the Blue Team pushed across three runs in both the first and second innings.
Vanderbilt: Gold 7 Black 5
The Gold Team finished off a three-game Black & Gold Series sweep Sunday afternoon with a 7-5 win over the Black Team at Hawkins Field.
The Black squad made it close scoring a run in the sixth and pushing two runs across in the bottom of the seventh to close the gap to two runs. With the bases loaded and two outs left-hander Keenan Kolinsky got Anthony Gomez to pop up to left field to end the game and finish off the Gold’s three-game sweep.
Arkansas: Cardinal 8 White 3
FAYETTEVILLE – Freshman John Clay Reeves tied the game with a homer in the top of the eighth and the Cardinal team took the lead for good with five runs in the top of the 10th to claim an 8-3 win in game two of the Cardinal-White series on Sunday afternoon at Baum Stadium.
With the victory, the Cardinal team takes a 2-0 lead in the series. After an off day tomorrow, game three is scheduled for Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. at Baum Stadium. Freshman right hander Greg Milhorn will start for White in game three, while Cardinal will throw sophomore righty Logan Taylor.
Indiana: Cream 6 Crimson 5
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Five runs crossed the plate and two leads were surrendered in the final inning of the 2011 IU Baseball Cream vs. Crimson Fall Series, ultimately resulting in a Game Five winner for Team Cream, 6-5, to take the series three games to two.
The Crimson squad entered the top of the ninth trailing by two runs. It got worse when the first two batters were retired, giving Crimson just one out to play. Michael Basil ignited the rally, cranking a ball over the left field wall for the solo shot to cut the deficit to a lone run. Crimson would stroke three more hits before recording an out, good for two more tallies and a 5-4 advantage heading to the home half of the ninth.
Rice vs Texas State Scrimmage
The Rice baseball team hosted the second of its two fall scrimmages Sunday afternoon at Reckling Park. Rice head coach Wayne Graham, who is in his 21st season at the helm of the program, continues to keep a watchful eye on the team’s individual performances.
“The pitchers pitched well enough,” Coach Graham stated after the exhibition. “We didn’t pitch poorly, but we had a couple of defensive lapses. Mike (Fuda) looked good with a couple of hits today and played centerfield the whole day. Skyler (Ewing) got a hold of one and hit it completely over the hill (behind left field). He also got a sacrifice fly, which we need to learn is sometimes all you need to do to get a run.
Texas 7 Houston 2 (14 innings)
AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas Longhorns earned a 7-2 win over the Houston Cougars in an exhibition game on Sunday afternoon at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. The game went a predetermined 14 innings.
Texas drew first blood in the bottom of the third inning. With one out in the frame, Alex Silver drew a walk and moved to second on a grounder by Cohl Walla. Mark Payton reached on an error by the Cougars’ second baseman to put runners on the corners. Brooks Marlow broke the scoring seal with a double, which plated Silver. Payton came around to score when the Houston rightfielder misplayed the ball Marlow single, giving Texas 2-0 lead.
Yale Fall Ball Recap
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — If the weekend’s performance is any indication, the Yale University baseball team can expect big things from junior outfielder Josh Scharff in the 2012 season.
Scharff went 3-for-4 with four runs batted in in Sunday’s championship game of the 2011 New Haven City Series to power Yale to a 7-3 victory over the University of New Haven. Scharff hit a pair of doubles in the game, the first drove in three runs in the third inning to erase a 2-0 deficit and give the Bulldogs a 3-2 lead. His second double of the game drove in the fourth run of the game to break a 3-3 tie and start a four-run rally in the eighth inning that put Yale on top for good, securing the second straight City Series crown for the Bulldogs.
Louisville: JJ’s Juice 6 Swiss Cheese 6
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Louisville baseball team completed its fall season with the finale of the 2011 Pizza Bowl Series on Sunday afternoon at Jim Patterson Stadium.
In Sunday’s finale, JJ’s Juice and Swiss Cheese’s finished in a 6-6 tie in the nine-inning contest. The Juice, coached by former Louisville catcher J.J. Ethel, clinched the best-of-three series with wins in the first two games on Thursday and Saturday against the Swiss, coached by Cardinals’ assistant and former player Kyle Cheesebrough.
Leading the way offensively on Sunday for the series-winning Juice was junior catcher Shane Crain (Lexington, Ky./Lexington Christian HS), who finished 1-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored, freshman catcher Cameron O’Brien (Tulsa, Okla./Bishop Kelley HS), who was 1-for-4 with two RBI and a run and sophomore shortstop Alex Chittenden (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central HS), who was 2-for-4 with a run.
Virginia: Blue 10 Orange 7
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Blue team scored in six of its nine trips to the plate in earning a 10-7 victory Sunday afternoon in the deciding Game 5 of the Orange and Blue World Series at Davenport Field. The Blue won the World Series championship and took four of five games in the series. Four of the games were decided by three runs or fewer.
“I thought it was a very good, competitive series,” Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor said. “We got out of it what we wanted to get out of it. We grew as a team and got better throughout the fall and this series.”
Central Michigan: Gold 7 Maroon 4
MOUNT PLEASANT – The Central Michigan Fall Gold squad captured the annual Fall World Series Sunday, 4-2, at Theunissen Stadium with a 7-4 win over the Maroon.
A trio of newcomers led the way for the Gold as Jonathon Nelson and Kyle Henris each went 2-for-4 with two RBI and freshman Sean Renzi picked up his second win of the series in relief.
Nelsen’s two RBI single to left center in the top of the seventh scored Nick Regnier and Eric Wrozek, sparking a three-run inning that broke open a game in which the Gold led by just one, 4-3. Henris followed with a single of his own to plate Nelsen for a 7-3 lead.
