UVA Baseball plays fourth game in Orange and Blue World Series

UVA Baseball’s Will Allocca (Richmond, Va.) perfectly executed a squeeze bunt that allowed the winning run to score from third base in a 7-6 Orange victory in the Orange and Blue World Series on Sunday.

Junior Alex Tappen (Lower Gwynedd, Pa.) reached on an error, advanced to second on a wild pitch and moved to third on a dropped third strike to put himself into position to score the game-winning run with one out in the ninth. Tappen went 1-for-4 with a triple, an RBI and a run scored on the night.

Blue had the lead on three different occasions, including a 6-5 advantage after scoring three runs in the top of the eighth. Blue out-hit Orange 11-9 but committed four errors.

Chris Newell (Newtown Square, Pa.) and Brendan Rivoli (Douglassville, Pa.) each put together two-hit performances to lead Orange. Newell drove in three runs and tied the game up at six in the bottom of the eighth inning on a single to center that scored Walker Jenkins (Sun Prairie, Wis.). Rivoli scored twice and also drove in a run in a 2-for-3 night at the plate.

Junior Devin Ortiz (Irvington, N.J.) provided the offensive fireworks for the Blue, belting a pair of solo home runs, including a laser down the left field line that tied the game pulled Blue within a run in the top of the sixth. Ortiz has hit three home runs in the Orange and Blue World Series.

Christian Hlinka (Frenchtown, N.J.) drove in a team-best, three runs for blue and tied the game up twice, first in the sixth and later in the eighth. He finished the night 2-for-3, with a run scored and three RBI.

Graduate student Stephen Schoch (Laurel, Md.) was credited with the win after striking out all three batters he faced in the top of the ninth. Chesdin Harrington (Montpelier, Va.) did the bulk of the pitching for Orange, striking out seven batters in four innings of work. Sophomore Kyle Petri (Lighthouse Point, Fla.) also added a scoreless inning of relief for Orange, striking out two of the three batters he faced in the sixth.

The final game of the Orange and Blue World Series will take place on Friday, Oct. 25. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. and admission to the finale is free.