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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Brown-Orange World Series Goes to Orange; Day 2 and 3 Recap
October 09, 2009 | Baseball
After the opening game of the Brown-Orange World Series was decided with an emphatic offensive display giving the Orange a 9-4 win. Games two and three would be played on Wednesday and Thursday in an effort to crown a winner in the inner-squad championship series.
PHOTO GALLERY
GAME 2 RECAP
Game two on Wednesday would follow a similar pattern as the Orange would run away with a 12-3 victory, scoring 11 runs between innings three and four.
Frank Berry would get the starting nod for the Orange and toss two innings of scoreless ball and sit down two Brown batters in that time. The Brown team would get on the board first as senior Mark Galvin's RBI single gave them a 1-0 lead, albeit temporary.
The Orange would respond off of Brown pitcher, Ross Gerdeman, with five runs in the bottom half of the third and began with freshman Nick Bruns' RBI single scored Patrick Martin to eliminate the deficit. Fellow senior Brandon McFarland would knock two-baggers bringing Bruns around the bases to take the lead, 2-1. Freshman walk-on Fred Sharp would drive in freshman Matthew Pitzulo on line drive single before Derek Spencer, McFarland and walk-on Mike Fahle would close out the scoring in the third with the fourth Orange RBI extra-base hit with a run-scoring double making the score 5-1 heading into the fourth inning.
Freshman Taylor Rhoades would add a run for the Brown team in the top half of the fourth with a RBI triple, making it a 5-2 deficit. However, the Orange would attack again with six runs in the home half of the fourth.
When the dust settled, the Orange would come away with a 12-3 win over the Brown team in six innings and take a 2-0 advantage in the series.
Head coach Danny Schmitz was encouraged by the Orange team's performance on both ends of the field. “The guys came out swinging the bats again and did a great job offensively.” He continued, “Frank Berry threw very well, which is encouraging. Each time out this fall he has gotten better and better and that is good news for our staff.”
OFFENSIVE HIGHLIGHTS
BROWN
#Blanton, T.J.# - 2-3, 2B, R, (2) RBI
ORANGE
#Bruns, Nick# - 2-4, R, (2) RBI
#McFarland, Brandon# - 2-4, (2) 2B, (3) RBI
Fahle, Mike - 2-3, 2B, R, (2) RBI
PITCHING HIGHLIGHTS
BROWN
#O'Brien, Patrick# - 2 IP, H, 1 BB, 1 K
#O'Brien, Richie# - 1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 K
ORANGE
#Berry, Frank# - 2 IP, H, 2 K, 0 R
Frank, Michael - 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 K, 0 BB
GAME 3 RECAP
Game three would prove to be quite the converse of games one and two with a pitchers duel on the horizon for the six inning finale. Junior right-handed pitcher Brennan Smith would take the hill for the Brown against freshman Cody Apthorpe on Thursday and both would have superb defenses operating behind them.
Apthorpe would breeze through his two innings of work allowing only one hit in that span. Smith would get into trouble early in his opening frame on the bump, but a 5-4-3 double play would end the inning with no runs crossing the plate. Smith would then settle down for inning number two and strike out as many after a Taylor Rhoades diving stop for a four-three putout.
Still scoreless in the third, the rain started to fall lightly but would not stop the BG baseballers. The Orange would threaten, but the Brown defense would step up and end the threat with a 5-6-3 double play to end the inning. Charles Wooten (Jr., RHP) would work the next two innings for the Orange and allow the game's first run in the home half of the third. After the third double play of the afternoon was turned when Wooten fielded his position with a one-six-three twin killing, Tyler Elkins (Sr., UTL) would crack a two-out triple. Freshman Matthew Pitzulo would drive Elkins home with an RBI single, giving the Brown a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Brown would extend their lead when Wooten would give up a lead off triple to Clay Duncan (Jr., INF/OF) after right fielder David Borcherdt attempted a diving catch but could not come up with the grab, allowing the ball to trickle to the corner and Duncan to go into third standing. With the corners playing in, Patrick Martin (r-So., OF/LHP) would ground into a run scoring fielder's choice to second, making the game a 2-0 lead in favor of the Brown team.
The Danny Schmitz led Orange squad would tie the ball game up in the top half of the fifth off of junior lefty, Dan Parsons. After a leadoff single by Rhoades, catcher Ryan Schlater would drive him home with a double to the right-center gap, making it a 2-1 contest. After a ground out, hit batsman and flyout, Rhoades would find himself on third base and a strong desire to score on his own. With a 2-2 count on the hitter, Rhoades took off to steal home and with a headfirst slide scored, tying the game at two apiece.
The rain would begin to fall heading into the sixth and final inning. Nick Bruns and Steven Barret (So., RHP) would keep each side scoreless, ending the third and final game in a 2-2 tie.
Despite the weather shortening the game and the series, Schmitz again continues to see progress up and down the lineup. “Brennan Smith threw better than he did on pro scout day and its great to see him rebound like he did today. That's what outstanding pitchers do. He came back and threw very well.”
The Orange-Brown World Series officially came to a close with the end of game three. The Orange team has been crowned champion for 2009 and retains bragging rights after taking two of three games before tying the series finale.
“I saw some very good things and the bats were out throughout the series and the fall. There was some darn good pitching performances out there, but we still need to work on some situations and base running,” said Schmitz. “As a whole it was a good fall.“
The Falcons now conclude their fall baseball season and will enter their off-season weight-training phase. “Now it just time for us to get stronger and get healthy,” said Schmitz. “We got a little banged up and we have some key guys coming back from injury, so we'll take this time to get them healthy again.”
PHOTO GALLERY
GAME 2 RECAP
Game two on Wednesday would follow a similar pattern as the Orange would run away with a 12-3 victory, scoring 11 runs between innings three and four.
Frank Berry would get the starting nod for the Orange and toss two innings of scoreless ball and sit down two Brown batters in that time. The Brown team would get on the board first as senior Mark Galvin's RBI single gave them a 1-0 lead, albeit temporary.
The Orange would respond off of Brown pitcher, Ross Gerdeman, with five runs in the bottom half of the third and began with freshman Nick Bruns' RBI single scored Patrick Martin to eliminate the deficit. Fellow senior Brandon McFarland would knock two-baggers bringing Bruns around the bases to take the lead, 2-1. Freshman walk-on Fred Sharp would drive in freshman Matthew Pitzulo on line drive single before Derek Spencer, McFarland and walk-on Mike Fahle would close out the scoring in the third with the fourth Orange RBI extra-base hit with a run-scoring double making the score 5-1 heading into the fourth inning.
Freshman Taylor Rhoades would add a run for the Brown team in the top half of the fourth with a RBI triple, making it a 5-2 deficit. However, the Orange would attack again with six runs in the home half of the fourth.
When the dust settled, the Orange would come away with a 12-3 win over the Brown team in six innings and take a 2-0 advantage in the series.
Head coach Danny Schmitz was encouraged by the Orange team's performance on both ends of the field. “The guys came out swinging the bats again and did a great job offensively.” He continued, “Frank Berry threw very well, which is encouraging. Each time out this fall he has gotten better and better and that is good news for our staff.”
OFFENSIVE HIGHLIGHTS
BROWN
#Blanton, T.J.# - 2-3, 2B, R, (2) RBI
ORANGE
#Bruns, Nick# - 2-4, R, (2) RBI
#McFarland, Brandon# - 2-4, (2) 2B, (3) RBI
Fahle, Mike - 2-3, 2B, R, (2) RBI
PITCHING HIGHLIGHTS
BROWN
#O'Brien, Patrick# - 2 IP, H, 1 BB, 1 K
#O'Brien, Richie# - 1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 K
ORANGE
#Berry, Frank# - 2 IP, H, 2 K, 0 R
Frank, Michael - 2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 K, 0 BB
GAME 3 RECAP
Game three would prove to be quite the converse of games one and two with a pitchers duel on the horizon for the six inning finale. Junior right-handed pitcher Brennan Smith would take the hill for the Brown against freshman Cody Apthorpe on Thursday and both would have superb defenses operating behind them.
Apthorpe would breeze through his two innings of work allowing only one hit in that span. Smith would get into trouble early in his opening frame on the bump, but a 5-4-3 double play would end the inning with no runs crossing the plate. Smith would then settle down for inning number two and strike out as many after a Taylor Rhoades diving stop for a four-three putout.
Still scoreless in the third, the rain started to fall lightly but would not stop the BG baseballers. The Orange would threaten, but the Brown defense would step up and end the threat with a 5-6-3 double play to end the inning. Charles Wooten (Jr., RHP) would work the next two innings for the Orange and allow the game's first run in the home half of the third. After the third double play of the afternoon was turned when Wooten fielded his position with a one-six-three twin killing, Tyler Elkins (Sr., UTL) would crack a two-out triple. Freshman Matthew Pitzulo would drive Elkins home with an RBI single, giving the Brown a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Brown would extend their lead when Wooten would give up a lead off triple to Clay Duncan (Jr., INF/OF) after right fielder David Borcherdt attempted a diving catch but could not come up with the grab, allowing the ball to trickle to the corner and Duncan to go into third standing. With the corners playing in, Patrick Martin (r-So., OF/LHP) would ground into a run scoring fielder's choice to second, making the game a 2-0 lead in favor of the Brown team.
The Danny Schmitz led Orange squad would tie the ball game up in the top half of the fifth off of junior lefty, Dan Parsons. After a leadoff single by Rhoades, catcher Ryan Schlater would drive him home with a double to the right-center gap, making it a 2-1 contest. After a ground out, hit batsman and flyout, Rhoades would find himself on third base and a strong desire to score on his own. With a 2-2 count on the hitter, Rhoades took off to steal home and with a headfirst slide scored, tying the game at two apiece.
The rain would begin to fall heading into the sixth and final inning. Nick Bruns and Steven Barret (So., RHP) would keep each side scoreless, ending the third and final game in a 2-2 tie.
Despite the weather shortening the game and the series, Schmitz again continues to see progress up and down the lineup. “Brennan Smith threw better than he did on pro scout day and its great to see him rebound like he did today. That's what outstanding pitchers do. He came back and threw very well.”
The Orange-Brown World Series officially came to a close with the end of game three. The Orange team has been crowned champion for 2009 and retains bragging rights after taking two of three games before tying the series finale.
“I saw some very good things and the bats were out throughout the series and the fall. There was some darn good pitching performances out there, but we still need to work on some situations and base running,” said Schmitz. “As a whole it was a good fall.“
The Falcons now conclude their fall baseball season and will enter their off-season weight-training phase. “Now it just time for us to get stronger and get healthy,” said Schmitz. “We got a little banged up and we have some key guys coming back from injury, so we'll take this time to get them healthy again.”
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