UVA lefty Nathan Kirby pitched into the third inning with a lead, but the 2015 MLB Draft pick ran out of gas in his first start in nine weeks, and Florida took advantage in a 10-5 win on Friday in the College World Series in Omaha.
The win sets up a do-or-die game between the Cavaliers and Gators on Saturday for a slot in the CWS Championship Series.
Kirby (5-3) took the mound with a 1-0 lead after the ‘Hoos scored a run in the top of the first, getting Adam Haseley on with a leadoff single, to second on a Daniel Pinero sacrifice bunt and then scoring on an RBI single by Matt Thaiss.
It was still 1-0 in the third when the Gators got runners on the corners with one down on back-to-back singles by Dalton Guthrie and Ryan Larson. A Harrison Bader RBI groundout knotted the score at 1-1, and Florida chased Kirby after an RBI double by Richie Martin and an RBI single by Josh Tobias.
Tobias scored later in the inning on a passed ball with reliever Alec Bettinger pitching, closing the books on Kirby, who was charged with four runs, three earned, on four hits in two and two-thirds innings, striking out one and walking one, throwing 53 pitches, 35 for strikes.
Florida added five runs in the sixth, all charged to Bettinger. Virginia answered with three in the seventh on a sac-fly RBI from Matt Thaiss and a two-run double from Kenny Towns.
A Mike Rivera RBI double made it 10-4 Florida in the bottom of the seventh. Kevin Doherty got that run back for the Cavs with a sac-fly RBI in the eighth.
Florida ace Logan Shore (11-6) got the win, giving up four runs on eight hits in six and a third, striking out four and walking two.
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Chris Graham
