Oct. 28, 2007
Audio: Coach Corbin Interview | Audio: de la Osa Interview | View Box Score
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt freshman Gabe Ortiz drove in three runs to lead the Vanderbilt Gold squad to a 6-2 come from behind victory over the Black squad in game three of the Black & Gold Series.
“It feels good to take the series,” Gold captain Dominic de la Osa said. “We get to talk trash to the other teammates so that’s fun. Cotham had a real good game. He kept us off balance. He pitched well the five innings he pitched. After that, our bats came alive. We got a couple lucky hits. A good hit and run by Shea, we scored there. We just took off from there.”
The Gold squad was shut down early behind solid pitching from redshirt freshman Caleb Cotham. Cotham threw four and two-thirds of no-hit baseball, only allowing one walk. However, the bats came alive in the last three innings as the Gold team scored six runs in the last three innings.
“I thought Caleb Cotham pitched very well,” Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin said. “I was telling the kids its amazing the difference a year makes in a kid. I thought his confidence with his fastball and breaking stuff and just his overall approach to pitching was very good. I thought we played pretty good defense.”
Taylor Hill picked up the win for the Gold squad, throwing three innings without allowing a hit. Hill walked one and struck out three in his three innings of work. Mark Lamm pitched the final two innings to pick up the save. Lamm walked one and struck out one while not allowing a hit in two innings on the mound.
The Black team got the scoring started in the bottom of the first. Jonathan White drove in a pair of runs on a triple to the left-center field gap to give the Black team an early two-run advantage.
Neither team would cross the plate again until the top of the seventh when the Gold team exploded for four runs. Pedro Alvarez drove in the first run on a single through the right side to score Joey Manning. Shea Robin followed with a single to tie the game up at two, driving in de la Osa. With the bases loaded and two outs, Ortiz singled to center, scoring Brad French and Robin to give the Gold squad a 4-2 lead.
The Gold team added on to their lead in the eighth and ninth innings, scoring a run in each frame. De la Osa drove in the fifth run of the game for the Gold on a sacrifice fly to center, while Ortiz drove in the final run of the game on a basehit.
The Black and Gold series concludes fall practice for the Commodores. Vanderbilt returns to action February 22 in Tempe, Ariz., against two-time defending national champion Oregon State.
