Nov. 13, 2009
CORAL GABLES, Fla. - For the third straight fall, the Orange team has won the University of Miami baseball team's Orange-Green Fall World Series, picking up a 8-6 win Friday in the final game of this week's best-of-three series at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.
After dropping the series opener, 10-5, on Monday, the Orange team responded with a 6-3 win on Wednesday to force Friday's third game.
With the scored tied 6-6 heading into the ninth, newcomers Frankie Ratcliff and Chris Pelaez smacked back-to-back homers to lead off the inning to put the Orange team up for good.
Iden Nazario earned his second win of the series, striking out two in a scoreless eighth. Dave Gutierrez also earned his second save of the series, striking out one in the ninth.
Yasmani Grandal earned MVP honors for the Orange team, going 7-for-13 with four doubles and three RBI in the series.
The Green team was led at the plate by Harold Martinez, who finished the series 5-for-11 with two homers and three RBI.
The momentum stayed with the Orange squad early in Friday afternoon's game, as freshmen Zeke DeVoss and Michael Broad each homered in a four-run first inning. For DeVoss, it was his second homer in as many games after hitting the game-winning homer on Wednesday.
After Orange added another run in the third to make it 5-0, the Green team finally got on the board with a homer by Martinez in the fourth.
The Green team added a pair of runs in the seventh to cut the deficit to two before a tying the game up in the eighth. Scott Lawson and Martinez led off the inning with singles before a double by David Villasuso and a single by Teddy Blackman evened the game at 6-6.
Orange has now won each of the first three Orange-Green Fall World Series dating back to 2007. Last year,
Nathan Melendres led the Orange team to a 5-2 win the series finale, going 3-for-4 with a pair of triples, a stolen base, two RBI and two runs scored. In 2007, Nazario drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the sixth to score
Blake Tekotte to give the Orange team a 1-0 win.
The Hurricanes will close out their 2009 fall season next weekend when the team holds its Pro Scout Day on Saturday, Nov. 21 at Alex Rodriguez Park.
