Orange baseball wins state championship
May 31st, 2008 Posted in High School Baseball, High School Playoffs, NCHSAARelated links:
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ORANGE RALLIES IN SEVENTH TO WIN STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
Carvel Copeland delivered a clutch two-out single in the bottom of the seventh to drive home the winning run as Orange rallied to score three runs in the final frame to beat East Rutherford 3-2 and win the NCHSAA state 2-A baseball championship series at UNCG Baseball Stadium.
The Orange Panthers won their first NCHSAA baseball championship, sweeping the Cavaliers with both games ending in a similar fashion. In the opening game Friday night, Orange erupted for four runs in the seventh to break open a close game and score a 6-1 triumph.
East Rutherford got out to a 2-0 lead in the fifth, scoring one run on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Cullen Park, and another run on a wild pitch. The Cavaliers held that advantage until the decisive seventh.
After a hit, a strikeout and an error, winning pitcher Jake Manzulich delivered a run-scoring single to cut the lead to 2-1. Then with two outs, pinch hitter Josh Pettiford delivered a clutch game-tying single, followed by Copeland’s base hit that brought in the winning run. Copeland, Manzulich and Larry McDonald each had two hits for the Panthers. Copeland went three for seven in the two games and made a number of outstanding defensive plays in center field to earn series MVP honors.
Seth Baldwin and Michael Milam each had two hits for East, which finished 22-11.
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