Oct. 7, 2009

Final Stats

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - On a perfect fall afternoon at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, a home run and three stolen bases by freshman Cody Stubbs helped the Orange team take a 2-0 advantage in the University of Tennessee's Orange and White World Series with an 8-3 triumph in a six-inning tiebreaker used to determine the winner of game two, which was suspended after nine innings on Sunday.

"I was very pleased with how we played today," UT Head Coach Todd Raleigh said. "This was probably our best offensive performance of the fall, especially early on. We had a really good approach at the plate and we saw a few long balls because of it. We made a few errors and had a couple mistakes on the basepaths, but a lot of that is because we've told them to be aggressive, so I'm not too concerned about that. Overall, I thought it was a good day. We need to do a better job throwing strikes at the end of the game, but we'll get that corrected."

After a scoreless first inning, the Orange team was the first to crack the scoreboard in the bottom of the second, as Stubbs pounded an offering from freshman Michael Theodore over the wall in right center. Although Theodore responded by getting a couple of quick outs, pitching coach Jason Beverlin's squad kept applying the pressure. After junior Tyler Hannah took a pitch off his back, senior Cody Grisham made it 2-0 Orange with a double to left. Freshman Chris Fritts then poked a single to center to plate the squad's third run of the inning before fellow classmate Drew Steckenrider grounded out to the pitcher to end the rally.

The White refused to go home without a fight though, getting a pair of those runs back in the next frame on solo home runs by sophomore Zach Osborne and junior Cody Hawn. Orange team starter Adam Adkins got junior P.J. Polk to line out to start the inning, but Osborne gave the White its first run of the game on a shot down the left-field line that just dropped over the wall. After Adkins stuck out junior Josh Liles, Hawn crushed one over the scoreboard in right center to move his team to within one at 3-2.

That would be as close as the White squad would get though, as the Orange tacked on four more runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a commanding 7-2 lead. Hannah opened the frame with a single that bounced off the bag at third base and moved to second on a sac bunt by Grisham. A walk and an error then loaded the bases before a pair of wild pitches allowed Hannah and Fritts to score. Following another walk, Vermont transfer Matt Duffy added a two-RBI single, but was thrown at second trying to stretch it into a double to end the inning.

The two squads traded scoreless frames in the fifth before each allowed a run in the sixth to round out the scoring for the day. The White squad tallied its third run on an RBI single by junior Khayyan Norfork, while the Orange team took advantage of an error and two stolen bases by Stubbs to record its final run on a sacrifice fly by Grisham.

In a repeat of the first game of the Orange and White World Series, Adkins claimed the win on Wednesday, while McCray suffered his second loss. Adkins twirled two innings of one-hit ball to earn the victory, picking up one strikeout and one walk. Freshmen Hunter Daniel and Nicholas Blount each added scoreless frames for the Orange squad and sophomore Josh Allman and freshman Spencer Clifft combined for two shutout innings for infielder coach Bradley LeCroy's White team.

The Orange and White World Series will continue this weekend with a pair of contests. The third game of the series will take place at 5 p.m. Friday and first pitch for the fourth is set for 2 p.m. Sunday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville.