The No. 25 UVa. baseball team scored 13 runs over the last four innings to rally and knock off East Carolina, 13-9, Saturday on a cold, blustery day at Clark-LeClair Stadium in Greenville, N.C. The Cavaliers (2-0) trailed 4-0 after five innings before scoring the next 13 runs of the game.
The Sunday game has been cancelled because of cold and inclement weather forecast for the area. The game will not be rescheduled.
A day after scoring 14 runs with a dozen hits, Virginia battered ECU pitchers for 15 hits Saturday. All but two of the hits came over the final four innings. The Cavaliers also benefited from 10 walks as well as a trio of hit batsmen.
Derek Fisher (So., Rexmont, Pa.) went 3-for-5 with a 3-run home run and five RBI, while freshman Joe McCarthy (Scranton, Pa.) went 3-for-4 with four RBI. Jared King (R-Sr., Radford, Va.) also had three hits for Virginia.
In his first appearance on the mound in nearly a year, Whit Mayberry (R-Jr., Alexandria, Va.) tossed 2 2/3 shutout innings of relief to earn the win. Mayberry (1-0) took the ball in the sixth inning and gave up just a hit and two walks while recording a strikeout. He is coming off elbow surgery last March.
Virginia starter Scott Silverstein (R-Sr., Olney, Md.) worked five innings, allowing four runs (two earned), seven hits and a pair of walks. He struck out two. Freshman Nathan Kirby (Midlothian, Va.) got the final four outs to finish off the win for Virginia.
East Carolina reliever David Lucroy (0-1) took the loss after walking the lone batter he faced on four pitches in the seventh inning. ECU starter Ryan Williams pitched six full innings and faced the first two batters of the seventh. He pitched five scoreless innings before the Cavaliers touched him up for runs in the sixth and seventh; he allowed four runs (three earned), six hits and three walks while picking up two strikeouts.
East Carolina jumped out to a 4-0 lead through four innings, starting with a pair of runs in the second inning. After Chase McDonald drew a leadoff walk, Nick Thompson doubled one out later to put runners on second and third. Zach Houchins hit a sacrifice fly, and Bryan Bass followed with a run-scoring single to give ECU the 2-0 edge.
The lead doubled in the fourth inning. Bass and Watkins hit consecutive one-out singles. Garrett Brooks hit a grounder to first, and UVa got the force at second, but the Branden Cogswell (So., Ballston Lake, N.Y.) throw back to first was errant, allowing Bass to score and Brooks to advance to second. Jack Reinheimer followed with an RBI single.
UVa started its comeback with a pair of runs in the sixth inning. After a Cogswell drew a leadoff walk and King singled, Fisher grounded into a fielder’s choice. Cogswell then scored as Fisher as thrown out attempting to steal second base. Brandon Downes (So., South Plainfield, N.J.) reached on a 2-out throwing error and scored when McCarthy lined a double into the right-field corner.
The Cavaliers took the lead in the seventh inning by batting around and scoring three times. UVa loaded the bases with none out and while facing reliever Jake Harris, Cogswell laid down a safety squeeze bunt to bring Nick Howard (So., Olney, Md.) home. After King struck out swinging, Fisher hit an infield single to score Reed Gragnani (Sr., Richmond, Va.). The Pirates brought in Drew Reynolds in relief, and he hit Downes with a pitch to load the bases. McCarthy then hit a grounder in the hole at shortstop, and Reinheimer’s throw to second was late as Downes hustled down the line to beat it out and allow Nate Irving (So., Yonkers, N.Y.) to score.
UVa broke loose with a 5-run eighth inning, sending 11 batters to the plate. After the Cavaliers loaded the bases with none out, Cogswell lifted a sac fly to right field. King loaded the bases with a single, and Fisher followed with an RBI single, although Irving was thrown out at the plate. Downes walked to again load the bases with two out, and McCarthy blooped a single to left-center to score a pair and push the lead to 9-4. UVa again loaded the bases when pinch hitter Mike Papi (So., Tunkhannock, Pa.) was hit by a pitch, and Howard walked to force in the fifth run of the inning.
Fisher launched a 3-run home run into the teeth of the strong wind in the ninth inning. The blast to right-center was his first long ball of the year.
ECU strung together six hits in the ninth to score five times and close the margin, but Kirby struck out pinch hitter Jonathan Holt to end the threat and strand a runner at second base.
Virginia returns home at 3 p.m. Tuesday for its home opener against William and Mary. It marks the first contest in a 14-game homestand.
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