Virginia Tech scored five runs in the seventh inning to come back and down the No. 12 UVA baseball team, 7-5, Saturday at English Field at Union Park in Blacksburg. Virginia (29-9, 10-8 ACC) won the series, two games to one, as the Hokies (19-19, 7-11) salvaged a game and avoided the sweep.
The game was part of the Commonwealth Clash presented by Virginia529.
Virginia finished with 11 hits. Adam Haseley (Jr., Windermere, Fla.), Pavin Smith (Jr., Jupiter, Fla.), Cameron Simmons (So., Royersford, Pa.) and Jake McCarthy (So., Scranton, Pa.) each had two hits. Simmons finished a big week, going 9-for-17 in four straight multiple-hit games, including 7-for-13 in the series.
Virginia relief pitcher Riley Wilson (Jr., Midlothian, Va.) took the loss and fell to 0-1 after allowing three runs in the seventh inning. UVA starter Adam Haseley (Jr., Windermere, Fla.) pitched six innings, giving up two runs (one earned), five hits and two walks while striking out a career-high nine batters. UVA committed a pair of key errors which led to runs in the first and seventh innings.
Virginia Tech reliever Joey Sullivan (1-2) worked two-thirds of an inning to earn the win, while Tom Stoffel shut the Cavaliers out over the final two innings to claim his first save. Hokies’ starter Nick Anderson worked 5 1/3 innings, allowing four earned runs, seven hits and two walks with two strikeouts.
Virginia Tech took advantage of a UVA error to grab its first lead of the series in the opening inning. After a UVA error on a potential inning-ending double-play ball put runners on the corners with one out, Sam Fragale hit a sac fly to right field.
UVA responded in the next half inning with three-consecutive two-out hits to take a 2-1 lead. Nate Eikhoff (So., Bristow, Va.) hit a solo home run to right-center field, his first homer of the season. McCarthy then legged out a triple to right-center and scored on a single from Ernie Clement (Jr., Rochester, N.Y.).
Virginia again strung together three straight two-out hits in the fifth to push its lead to 4-1. Haseley singled up the middle, moved up a base on a wild pitch and scored on Smith’s double to left-center. Robbie Coman (Gr., Lake Worth, Fla.) followed with a run-scoring double down the left-field line.
Rahiem Cooper homered to left field on the first pitch of Virginia Tech’s half of the fifth inning. The Hokies’ bid for a second long ball in the inning was stopped by Smith when he reached over the left-field wall to pull back a blast from Ryan Tufts.
UVA scored in the seventh on a Haseley single to bring home Clement, but Virginia Tech responded in its half of the seventh by sending eight batters to the plate and scoring five runs off the UVA bullpen, punctuated by a three-run home run to left field by Mac Caples off Wilson for a 7-5 lead.
The game was delayed an hour, 21 minutes in the top of the eighth inning because of a thunderstorm. Following the delay, the Cavaliers put runners on the corners with one out but were unable to score. Smith singled with one out in the ninth, but a double-play ball from Coman provided the game’s final two outs.
Virginia returns home for five games next week. UVA plays Longwood (Tuesday), James Madison (Wednesday) and Notre Dame (Friday through Sunday).
The Commonwealth Clash presented by Virginia529 is a head-to-head, points-based competition between the athletic teams at University of Virginia and Virginia Tech. The Commonwealth Clash encourages a friendly, statewide rivalry between the two schools across all school-sponsored sports with 22 individual event points on the line. The school that accumulates 11.5 points or more will be crowned the winner and take home the Virginia529 Commonwealth Clash trophy. Visit TheCommonwealthClash.com for more information and updated standings.
UVA clinched a point in the Commonwealth Clash. Virginia Tech holds a 9-8 lead in the latest standings.
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Chris Graham
