Cody Brown
FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
Sophomore catcher Blake Forsythe’s only hit of Sunday’s game was the most important for his team. Forsythe’s three-run home run in the top of the ninth inning lifted the Orange team to an 8-6 victory Sunday in Game 5 of the Tennessee Orange & White World Series at Robert M. Lindsay Field at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The win gave the Orange team a 3-2 series lead heading into the final two games of the series scheduled for Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
“We were trailing all game so to finally come back and get a hit, it was a good feeling,” Forsythe said. “Especially going up two in the bottom of the ninth, I felt like Matt (Ramsey) came out there and gave us a chance to win it.”
Freshman right-hander Matt Ramsey earned the win for the Orange team, coming in to get the last out of the eighth inning and close the game out in the ninth. Ramsey allowed only one hit, two walks and he struck out two.
“For Ramsey to come in and show some good things and be learning the things he needs to know to become a successful closer for us, that was the good thing to see,” Orange team coach Fred Corral said. “He did all those things, made a few mistakes, but he has to be able to attack guys and trust his stuff a little bit better.”
The Orange team got on the board first with a run in the top of the second inning. Second baseman Cody Grisham stroked a single back up the middle, scoring Tyler Horne who reached base with a single of his own.
The White team tallied its first run on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Charley Thurber in the bottom of the second inning. Josh Liles, who reached on a double to left field, scored to tie the game at one.
Kentrail Davis put the White team up 2-1 in the third inning when he singled in Zach Osborne, who reached on double down the left field line. With runners on first and third, first baseman Cody Hawn hit his second home run of the weekend and third of the fall, driving in three runs to put the White team in front 5-1.
In the same inning, Gary Wilson added to the White team’s lead, making it 6-1, when he drove in Josh Liles with a single to centerfield. Liles reached on a double and then stole third base.
In the third inning junior Nick Hernandez replaced Orange team starting pitcher Stephen McCray. Hernandez threw five scoreless innings allowing no runs on four hits while striking out four. The left hander has not allowed an earned run in 11 innings pitched this fall.
Steve Crnkovich and Ramsey combined to throw the final two innings out of the bullpen.
Cody Brown put the Orange team back within four runs with his second home run of the fall in the top of the sixth inning.
Down 6-2, the Orange team began its comeback by scoring three runs in the eighth inning. Brown got things started when he scored from third after Blake Forsythe was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Then, back-to-back sacrifice flies by Ramsey and Cody Grisham, drove in McCray and Tyler Horne who reached via the walk and a hit by pitch, respectively. The Orange team was back within a run, down 6-5.
With two outs in the top of the ninth, Blake Forsythe hit his home run to deep centerfield to put the Orange team up 8-6. Brown and McCray scored on the play. Forsythe finished the game 1-for-2 with four RBI.
Senior Danny Wiltz took the loss for the White team after surrendering three runs in the top of the ninth. Junior Aaron Tullo started the game and pitched four innings allowing only one run on three hits and striking out three. Freshmen Steven Gruver, Mason Forbis, and Hunter Daniel, and senior Ryne Simpson also saw action out of the bullpen for the White team.
