#16 UVA downs Towson, 3-2

The No. 16 UVA baseball team earned a 3-2 win over Towson Tuesday afternoon in the opener of a two-game midweek series at Davenport Field. The Cavaliers (16-5) got two hits apiece from Jake McCarthy (So., Scranton, Pa.) and Ernie Clement (Jr., Rochester, N.Y.), while three UVA pitchers scattered seven hits and did not walk a batter in the win.

A week after leaving his start against Monmouth early after being struck in the wrist by a line drive, Virginia starter Derek Casey (Jr., Mechanicsville, Va.) showed no ill effects Tuesday. Casey (2-0) worked six innings of one-run baseball, giving up five hits and no walks while striking out five, matching a career high. After a perfect inning of relief from Evan Sperling (So., Poquoson, Va.), Tommy Doyle (Jr., Vienna, Va.) worked the final two innings to close the game and notch his fifth save.

Towson starter Michael Adams (1-1) fired 6 1/3 innings, giving up three runs, seven hits and two walks while fanning one in taking the loss.

UVA scored single runs in the second and third innings to grab the early advantage. In the second, after a Pavin Smith (Jr., Jupiter, Fla.) single and Cameron Simmons (So., Royersford, Pa.) double, Nate Eikhoff (So., Bristow, Va.) hit an RBI groundout. McCarthy ripped a leadoff triple in the third and scored on a Clement sac fly.

Towson (8-6) sliced the lead in half in the fifth, getting a double from Trey Martinez to plate Colin Dyer, who hit a leadoff single.

Virginia used the McCarthy-Clement combo to score again in the sixth, as McCarthy hit a leadoff single and then stole second before moving to third on an errant throw from the catcher, Martinez. Clement then lined a single through the drawn-in infield to left field.

Towson got a two-out RBI single from Richie Palacios in the eighth inning, marking the first run Doyle allowed in nine appearances this season. Doyle picked off Palacios at first to end the eighth and worked a perfect ninth to lock up the win.

Virginia and Towson conclude the midweek series at 4 p.m. Wednesday. The game airs on ACC Network Extra, which is available to authenticated subscribers of ESPN3 through WatchESPN and the ESPN app. Live statistics also are available on VirginiaSports.com.