The No. 3-ranked Virginia baseball team scored 10 runs in the fourth inning in blowing out Maryland 14-1 Friday evening at Davenport Field. The 10-run inning was Virginia’s largest single-inning output since a 10-run third inning against North Carolina in the 2009 ACC Tournament.
Danny Hultzen (Jr., Bethesda, Md.) improved to 5-0 this season after pitching six innings and allowing one earned run, four hits and three walks. He struck out nine and became the first Virginia pitcher to surpass 300 career strikeouts. Hultzen now has 301 career strikeouts, which ranks 23rd in ACC history.
Shane Halley (Jr., Burke, Va.) tossed three perfect innings to notch his first career save for Virginia. He struck out six of the nine batters he faced.
Maryland starting pitcher Chuck Ghysels (1-2) worked three innings, allowing four earned runs, six hits and two walks with one strikeout. Sander Beck allowed all 10 runs in the fourth inning, although only two were earned.
Chris Taylor (So., Virginia Beach, Va.) went 2-for-4 with four RBI, while Steven Proscia (Jr., Suffern, N.Y.) posted three hits and drove in two. Ten Cavaliers recorded hits as UVa racked up 15 hits in the game. Maryland finished with just four hits.
Virginia (22-2, 6-1 ACC) started fast with a first-inning run. Taylor hit Ghysels’ first pitch into right field for a single. Taylor advanced on a passed ball, then alertly stole third base with the third baseman playing in for a possible bunt. John Barr (Sr., Ivyland, Pa.) then grounded out to plate the game’s first run.
Maryland (11-11, 1-6) promptly responded in the second inning. Brandon Padula led off with a triple to deep left-center field. Tomo Delp followed with a sacrifice fly to left field to knot the score.
UVa countered with a pair of runs in its half of the second to take a 3-1 lead. With one out David Coleman (Sr., Richmond, Va.) was hit by a pitch, and Reed Gragnani (So., Richmond, Va.) followed with a hit-and-run single. After Keith Werman (Jr., Vienna, Va.) worked a walk following a long at bat, Taylor hit a sac fly to right. Barr then singled up the middle to plate Gragnani.
The Cavaliers added on a run in the third inning on a two-out Werman single to score Gragnani from second base.
Virginia then let loose for 10 runs in the fourth, sending 14 batters to the plate against Beck. Three Maryland errors proved critical, as eight of the runs were unearned. Barr led off with a double that ricocheted off third base and down the left-field line. He advanced on a John Hicks (Jr., Sandy Hook, Va.) flyout and Ryan Levine (So., Hackensack, N.J.) then walked. Barr scored when Beck’s pickoff throw to first glanced off Delp’s glove for an error. Proscia and Swab hit consecutive singles to load the bases. Coleman then reached on an error by second baseman Ryan Holland, with Levine and Proscia scoring to push the lead to 7-1.
One out later Werman walked to load the bases, and Taylor followed with a double to right which cleared the bases and upped the lead to 10-1. After Barr walked, Hicks singled to score Taylor. Levine then reached on a throwing error by Delp, with Barr scoring. Proscia doubled in a pair of runs to cap the 10-run inning and stretch the Virginia advantage to 14-1.
The teams will play a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. The second game will start approximately 30 minutes following the conclusion of the first contest.
Live streaming video as well as audio broadcasts will be available for both games at VirginiaSports.com. Fans will need to purchase a subscription to view or listen to the games. Live statistics also will be provided at VirginiaSports.com.
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Chris Graham
