Nov. 24, 2008

(San Francisco, CA) - The Commissioner's office may have sensed the first meeting between Green and Gold would rumble. Game one of the 2008 Green and Gold World Series began and halted in a tie Tuesday at Benedetti Diamond. The seven game series began Sunday night at the draft held at HukiLau in San Francisco. The laid back Hawaiian restaurant felt an eruption of ego, testosterone and competitive juices during the two-hour draft headed by Green Team GM Anthony D'Albora and Gold GM/Manager John Norfolk. Following the final pick, Assistant Commissioner Troy Nakamura viewed the results and mandated a trade between the two teams to ensure pitching depth for the Green.

Verbal jabs flew across the table and continued out in to the streets of San Francisco. The next hour proved the time needed to formalize a swap. The draft and trade would play an immediate impact in the 1 - 1 postponement. Cameron Love (Green) and Sean Burns (Gold) used an average of 11.5 pitches per inning to breeze through the first 6 innings. Stephen Hilliard, on for Burns in the seventh, turned in an efficient inning striking out two. As he took the mound for the eighth, Chris Dittman stepped to the plate. After fouling off two pitches to work to a full count, Dittman hit a fastball over the centerfield wall for the first run of the series.

Then the trade...When reliever Joe Oropeza took the mound for the Green in the next half he faced the team that drafted him 48 hours prior. Late in the night around a table missing only cheap plastic visors and cigar smoke, the deal was made to send the junior righty to the Gold for left-hander Joe Anderson and left handed hitting first baseman Nik Balog.

Oropeza earned a three up, three down first that gave the Green momentum until the eighth. Gold's Keith Murakami led off with a walk. After an error allowed Mason Morioka to reach base, Oropeza's quick slider got Matt Chavez swinging. Senior Zach Kim punched a slider in to right field to even the score at one.

See the rest of the World Series action on Dons TV. Click the icoach logo on the USF Dons Baseball website (usfdons.com). The username is donstv and your password is godons.