The top-ranked Virginia baseball team headed into its exam break on a high note with a 14-3 road victory over VCU on a beautiful Tuesday evening at The Diamond in Richmond, Va. A crowd of 5,421 attended the game, marking the largest crowd for a college baseball game in Virginia state history.
The heart of the Cavaliers’ order had a big night, going 6-for-11 with nine runs scored and five RBI. Jared King (Jr., Radford,Va.) went 3-for-4 with four runs scored and a pair of RBI out of the six-hole, while Kenny Swab (Sr., Kernersville, N.C.) was 2-for-3 with three runs scored. Cleanup hitter Steven Proscia (Jr., Suffern, N.Y.) homered, drove in a pair and scored twice. The Cavaliers finished with 17 hits, one shy of a season high.
Virginia starting pitcher Cody Winiarski (Sr., Franksville, Wis.) worked five innings, allowing two runs (one earned) and four hits. Winiarski (6-2) struck out one and did not walk a batter. VCU starter Michael Graham (1-1) took the loss after allowing six earned runs and six hits in two-plus innings.
Virginia (43-5) scored three times in the second inning. Swab drew a leadoff walk and stole second before King singled him home. After Tyler Biddix (Sr., Richmond, Va.) walked, Graham uncorked a wild pitch. Colin Harrington (So., Johnstown, Pa.) then singled to right-center to score both runners.
The Cavaliers tacked on four runs in the third inning. John Barr (Jr., Ivyland, Pa.) singled to lead off and scored on a double to left-center by John Hicks. Proscia then unleashed a long home run to left-center, his fifth of the season and the 25th of his career as he moved into a 10th-place tie with Bobby Rivell (1987-90) on the all-time UVa home runs ledger. UVa added a fourth run in the inning on a David Coleman (Sr., Richmond, Va.) sacrifice fly.
VCU (17-25) responded in its half of the third with a pair of runs, getting a two-out RBI single from Nick Kime before shortstop Chris Taylor (So., Virginia Beach, Va.) booted a slow grounder by Taylor Perkins. Coleman made a great running and jumping catch on a fly ball down the right-field line from Kyle Sutherland to end the threat and strand two runners.
UVa put up four more runs in the fourth, with all the scoring coming with two outs. With Taylor on first base, Proscia was hit by a pitch, and Swab and King followed with back-to-back run-scoring singles before Biddix ripped a two-run single up the middle.
John Hicks (Jr., Sandy Hook, Va.) crushed the first pitch of the sixth inning over the left-field wall for his fifth homer of the season. UVa added a pair of runs later in the inning on a two-run double by pinch hitter Danny Hultzen (Jr., Bethesda, Md.).
VCU scored the game’s final run in the seventh on a bases-loaded walk to Paul Nice.
Virginia begins its final-exam period Wednesday. UVa resumes play May 13-15 with a three-game home series against No. 14 Miami at Davenport Field.
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