‘Hoos playing one more: UVA defeats Vandy, 3-0, to force deciding game in College World Series

UVA freshman Adam Haseley pitched into the sixth in a surprise start, Ernie Clement and Thomas Woodruff delivered two-out RBI hits in a three-run sixth, and Josh Sborz, once again, closed out a UVA College World Series win, 3-0 over Vanderbilt in Game 2 of the College World Series Championship Series.

The win evens the best-of-three series at one game each. The deciding Game 3 is Wednesday night at 8 p.m.

Haseley gave up four hits in five-plus scoreless innings, striking out one and walking three on 71 pitches, 42 for strikes, in the longest stint of his freshman season, in his fifth start.

Sborz got out of a first-and-second, no-out jam in the sixth to maintain a scoreless tie. Virginia finally broke through in the bottom of the sixth, getting a two-out single by Pavin Smith to extend the inning, then loading the bases with an infield single from Kevin Doherty and an error on an infield ground ball off the bat of Joe McCarthy.

Clement took a 1-0 pitch through the hole between short and third for an RBI single. Then Woodruff, already 2-for-2 in the game in his first at bats since mid-May, stroked a 2-2 pitch to center to score two more.

Sborz (7-2) took over from there, but it wasn’t easy. Vandy got two runners on base in the seventh and had runners on first and second with no outs in the ninth, but came up empty both times. Sborz struck out Nolan Rogers and then getting Ro Coleman to fly out to end the seventh, and struck out Jeren Kendall, getting Karl Ellison to fly out to right and then striking out Rogers on a 3-2 fastball to close out the game in the ninth.

Sborz went four innings in relief, giving up three hits, striking out three and walking two, on 77 pitches, 49 for strikes.

Philip Pfeifer (6-5) took the loss, giving up three runs, all unearned, on eight hits in five and two-thirds innings, striking out six and walking one.

What did Pfeifer in was his inability to get outs at the bottom of the order. Clement and Woodruff, the eight and nine hitters in the UVA order, each were 3-for-4, with the rest of the Cavs lineup going a combined 4-for-27.

The production from Clement and Woodruff and the big innings from Sborz were two of the stories of the game. The other big story of the game was the performance from Haseley, who had last pitched on May 23, a month ago, going four and two-thirds innings in Virginia’s ACC Tournament loss to N.C. State.

Haseley pitched out of two-on, two-out jams in the first and fifth. Haseley and Sborz were at their best with runners in scoring position, not allowing a Vandy hit in 10 at bats with runners in scoring position.

Looking ahead to Game 3, Virginia will start Brandon Waddell (4-5, 4.02 ERA) against Vanderbilt’s Walker Buehler (5-2, 2.85 ERA).

Waddell will be making his third start of the 2015 College World Series. Virginia won each of his previous two starts, with Waddell posting a 1-0 record with a 3.00 ERA in 12+ innings, giving up four runs on eight hits, striking out six and walking six.

Buehler got the win in his only 2015 CWS start, a 7-1 win over TCU on Friday, in which he pitched six and two-thirds innings, giving up a run on four hits, striking out eight and walking one.