Five Cavalier pitchers combined to toss No. 11 Virginia’s (19-2) sixth shutout of the season, blanking Yale (1-9) on Wednesday afternoon at Davenport Field.
Freshman right-hander Josh Sborz (McLean, Va.) made his first career start and picked up the win going 3.0 innings and striking out four Yale Bulldogs. Sborz improved his record to 2-0 on the season. Michael Coleman (0-2) was charged with the loss after yielding two runs on three hits through the first 2.0 innings.
The Cavaliers received multi-hit games from Mike Papi (So., Tunkhannock, Pa.), Reed Gragnani (Sr., Richmond, Va.) and Rob Bennie (Fr., Stroudsburg, Pa.). Bennie came on to pinch hit late in the game for Jared King (Sr., Radford, Va.) in the sixth inning, who was 1-for-2 with a double, and tallied his first two career hits for the Cavaliers. Joe McCarthy (Fr., Scranton, Pa.) and Gragnani each led the Cavaliers with two RBI. McCarthy tallied the two RBI on a ground out and a walk.
Virginia pushed two runs across in the home half of the second inning to take an early 2-0 lead. After Derek Fisher (So., Rexmont, Pa.) led the inning off by flying out to center field, Papi singled to start things off. Gragnani singled to center field to advance Papi. Robbie Coman (Fr., Lake Worth, Fla.) drove in Papi for the game’s first run on a double to left field. Gragnani advanced to third on the play and scored a pitch later when John LaPrise (Fr. Exton, Pa.) grounded out to second base.
The Cavaliers extended their lead to six runs, 6-0, after plating four runs in the bottom of the third inning. King led the inning off with a double down the left field line. King advanced to third when McCarthy grounded out to the pitcher. Kenny Towns (So., Burke, Va.) was then hit by a pitch by the Yale reliever, Chris Lanham. After Towns stole second base, Fisher was intentionally walked to load the bases after Lanham got behind the UVa left fielder, 3-0. With the bases juiced, Papi hit a sharp ground ball to second base. The Yale second baseman juggled the ball on the glove to hand transfer and was only able to secure one out, instead of starting a possible inning-ending double play. King scored on the play to make it 3-0. Gragnani followed up by doubling to left center, scoring Fisher and Towns to make it 5-0. Gragnani then advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored when Yale’s catcher Robert Baldwin threw the ball into left field on the same play. Gragnani’s run capped the scoring in the third inning.
Virginia scored again in the sixth inning after base hits by Branden Cogswell (So., Ballston Lake, N.Y.) and a pinch hit by Bennie set up a manufactured run for the Cavaliers. With one out, Cogswell and Bennie advanced to second and third on a passed ball during a lengthy at bat by McCarthy. The UVa freshman then grounded out to shortstop to score Cogswell, giving UVa a 7-0 lead.
The Cavaliers extended their lead to 10-0 after a three-run seventh inning. Fisher led off the frame with a walk and advanced to second when Papi walked on four pitches. George Ragsdale (Fr., North Port, Fla.) pinch hit for Gragnani and immediately deposited his first career hit to left field, advancing Papi to second and scoring Fisher. After Coman and John LaPrise (Fr., Exton, Pa.) each struck out, Thomas Woodruff (So., Clifton, Va.) pinch hit for Cogswell and walked to load the bases. Yale then brought in Cale Hanson from shortstop to pitch to Bennie, who singled to right to score Papi. The game’s scoring concluded when Hanson walked McCarthy to score Ragsdale.
Virginia returns to ACC action on Saturday when NC State comes to Charlottesville for a three-game series. First pitch on Saturday and Sunday is scheduled for 1 p.m., while Monday will be televised live on ESPNU and will commence at 7 p.m.
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