University of Tennessee Athletics
Pitching Powers White over Orange 3-0
October 05, 2007 | Baseball
Box Score??|Box Score (PDF)
Dominant pitching was the theme for the opening game of the inaugural Tennessee Baseball Orange & White World Series Friday, as a trio of White Team hurlers combined for a seven-inning no-hitter en route to a 3-0 victory at Robert M. Lindsay Field at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Newcomer Matt Hamaker, a junior catcher from Jackson State Community College, finished the day with two hits, a home run and a pair of RBIs to pace the White offense. Senior Andy Simunic also delivered two hits while scoring a pair of runs for the White Team, which finished with six hits.
The day belonged to junior right-hander Aaron Everett of the White Team. The Loudon, Tenn., native was near perfect while cruising through five no-hit innings. His only blemishes on the day were two walks and a hit batsman. Nine of the fifteen outs recorded by Everett were via the ground ball as he was credited with the win. He faced just one batter over the minimum.
???We played solid defense today, and Aaron Everett gave us a great effort,??? UT assistant coach and White Team skipper Bradley LeCroy said. ???Aaron threw strikes and did what he is capable of. Matt Hamaker was awesome as well.???
Everett was quick to credit his supporting cast.
???We looked good throughout the field today,??? Everett said. ???Everyone was making plays. I thought I threw the ball well and attacked the zone. I just let the hitters put the ball in play and let our defense work.???
Everett and Orange Team ace Bryan Morgado each got off to strong starts. Everett retired the side with the help of a nicely turned 4-6-3 double play in the top half of the first inning. Morgado, a redshirt freshman left-hander, didn???t waste any time putting up a zero of his own in the bottom half of the frame. He retired the White Team in order, thanks to a pair of groundouts to Simunic at second base.
Morgado completed four solid innings in his first appearance as a Volunteer, but a mistake in the second inning cost him a run and gave the??White squad an early lead. Hamaker sent a Morgado offering over the left-field fence, sneaking it just inside the foul pole to give the White Team a 1-0 lead it would never relinquish. Hamaker???s blast would have given his team a two-run edge, but Morgado used a nifty pickoff move to squelch junior third baseman Cody Brown at first during Hamaker???s at-bat. It was one of two pickoffs for Morgado on the afternoon.
Morgado found himself in a jam in the third inning after an infield single by Simunic and a walk by freshman outfielder Josh Liles. While occupying first base, Liles took off in an attempt to steal second, and Simunic broke for home as soon as freshman catcher Blake Forsythe threw the ball to second. The return throw home was in the dirt, and the Orange Team built a 2-0 lead as Simunic crossed the dish on the successful double-steal.
Morgado allowed four hits on the day while walking two and striking out a pair.
???Bryan did a good job of competing today,??? Orange Team manager and UT pitching coach Fred Corral said. ???The thing we need out of Bryan is for him to get batters out a bit quicker. He just threw too many pitches. But I was pleased with his competitiveness. He showed a really good move and the ability to control runners.???
Junior lefty Joey Rosas came on to relieve Morgado to start the fifth inning and retired the first two batters in order. Then following a walk to junior right fielder Ryan Jones, Hamaker showed his defensive prowess by gunning down Jones in an attempted steal at second to retire the side.
The White Team scratched another run in the bottom half of the sixth inning. After Simunic singled and senior left fielder Shawn Griffin reached on a fielder???s choice, Hamaker struck again. His sharp line drive into centerfield off of left-hander reliever D.J Leffler brought home Simunic and gave the White Team a 3-0 lead.
Rosas worked 1 2/3 innings of middle relief for the Orange Team, giving up one hit, walking two and recording a pair of strikeouts. Leffler came on to toss the final 1/3 inning, giving up one hit.
Brown provided the day???s defensive gem when, in the top of the fourth inning, P.J Polk roped a laser down the third-base line. Brown took one step to his right, laid out, and made a beautiful play, completing it with a strike to first to retire the speedy freshman outfielder.
???Cody???s defense was amazing,??? LeCroy said. ???He made every play he had to make???to his right, to his left as well as in front of him. That stab down the third-base line was huge with us holding a 2-0 lead. That could have given the Orange Team the momentum if he hadn???t made that play.???
White Team relievers Ryne Simpson and Danny Wiltz, both junior right-handers, finished off Everett???s no-hit bid. Simpson threw a hitless sixth inning, striking out one. Wiltz came on in the seventh to record the save by striking out two of the three batters he faced.
???Ryne Simpson and Danny Wiltz came out of the bullpen and did exactly what we needed them to do,??? LeCroy added.
Game two of the Orange & White World Series is set for Sunday at 1 p.m. Sophomore lefty Nick Hernandez will toe the rubber for the White Team, opposite sophomore right-hander Steve Crnkovich for the Orange Team. Admission is free.
