Orange Victorious in Black and Orange Series
The University of Findlay baseball program held their annual Black and Orange Series on Oct. 14-16 at Fifth Third Field. The Orange team claimed the series by a 2-0 margin.
The first game took place on Oct. 14 with the freshman singing the national anthem at home plate in front of the two teams and the crowd. Senior Mason Mayberry started for the Black team, facing off against sophomore Alexander Theiss for the Orange team. Both pitchers dominated the strike zone during their four innings of work. The only blemish for either hurler came in the top of the fourth when Mayberry allowed an unearned run to cross the plate giving the Orange team a 1-0 lead.
In the top of the fifth inning it was senior Chase Goulette leading off the frame with a first pitch single down the right field line off of senior pitcher Evan Hollar. Junior Peter Yorgen drove a double in the gap creating a second and third opportunity for the orange team. Senior Kris Hayward smashed a curve ball off of Hollar for his second hit of the game to drive in a pair of runs. Infielders Eric Riha, a senior, and junior Kevin Schrock followed with singles to extend the orange lead to 5-0 heading to the bottom of the inning.
The Orange team bullpen relieved Theiss in the fifth. After inducing a pair of pop ups to start the inning, things started turning south. The black team rallied for two runs to cut the lead to 5-2.
After the Orange team went quietly in their half of the sixth, the Black squad inched closer with another run in the bottom half.
However, in the top of the seventh, disaster struck for the Black team. The Orange squad rallied to put up five runs off of the Black team bullpen. It made the score 10-3 and the game appeared to be all but over. The Black team had other plans though. They saw four men cross the plate in the bottom of the inning and brought the tying run to plate with two outs. Finally, Riha locked down the win for the Orange squad with a strikeout. The final score was 10-7.
The second game of the series took place on Oct. 16. Two of Findlay's top pitchers were matched up against each other on the mound. Junior Austin Rodesky started for the Orange team while sophomore Colin Gossard took the hill for the Black team.
It would be Rodesky who cracked first, allowing a pair of runs in the third thanks in part to some shaky defense from the Orange squad. The score would eventually get to 3-0 before the Black team bullpen finally allowed the Orange team back into the game. A pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth for the Orange team made it a 3-2 game and in the top of the sixth they trotted sophomore Pete Burkett to the mound to try to preserve the one run deficit. The Black team couldn't get anything going against the sophomore right hander setting the stage for a big bottom of the sixth for the orange squad.
Thanks to some control problems from the Black team bullpen, which contributed to some walks along with timely hitting, the Orange squad put up three runs in the inning to take a 5-3 lead heading to the seventh and final inning. It appeared as though it would be Burkett's game to close, but he took a liner off of his chest, which loaded the bases with one out. The Orange team once again turned to Josh Robinson, who threw two-shutout innings in game one and was now in a situation where the tying run was on second and the go ahead run at first. Unfazed, the righty induced a routine ground ball up the middle that the orange squad turned for a double play, ending the game and the series.
Orange Team Pitcher of the Series: Josh Robinson
Orange Team MVP of the Series: Kevin Schrock
Black Team Pitcher of the Series: Colin Gossard
Black Team MVP of the Series: Logan Harrah
Orange Team
Captains: Chase Goulette, Kris Hayward, Eric Riha, Jake Ireland, Austin Rodesky
Pitchers: Alexander Theiss, Drew Yontz, Alex Harter, Nick Niro, Josh Robinson, Cory Carl
Position Players: Peter Yorgen, Josh Schwerer, Griffin Menke, Andrew Tincher, Pete Burkett, Austin Hoiles, Cameron Johnson, Kevin Schrock, Trevor Anderson, Devon Taylor, Josh Keller
Black Team
Captains: Mason Mayberry, Miguel Valdez, Evan Hollar, Jordan Garcia
Pitchers: Colin Gossard, A.J. Cecil, Tyler Kennedy, Cole Proffitt, Hunter Weis, Tyler Rendlesham,
Position Players: Logan Harrah, Brendan Phillips, Jordan Williams, Austin Adams, Anthony Ondrejcak, Jonah Schulz, Brandon Davis, Derrick Herd, Troy Merriman, Christion Smith, DJ Brock