Tommy Doyle (So., Vienna, Va.) allowed one earned run in seven-plus innings as the No. 4 Virginia baseball team defeated East Carolina, 4-2, Sunday afternoon in front of 3,993 fans at Davenport Field. Virginia (4-3) finished the series strong after dropping the first two games to the Pirates (6-1).
“I was proud of our guys that we found a way to win a ballgame today,” Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor said. “Tommy Doyle was terrific today. You don’t win that ballgame is Tommy doesn’t go out and give you seven strong innings. He did a tremendous job.”
Making his second career start, Doyle (1-1) gave up two runs (one earned), seven hits and no walks while striking out a pair. Alec Bettinger (Jr., Woodbridge, Va.) worked a scoreless ninth inning to claim his second save.
Jimmy Boyd (1-1) took the loss for ECU after working seven innings and giving up four runs (three earned), six hits and two walks while striking out three. The Pirates’ defense committed five errors – all in the first four innings.
Adam Haseley (So., Windermere, Fla.) went 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles as he finished with half of Virginia’s hits. Haseley also scored a pair of runs.
Virginia took advantage of poor ECU defense to score twice in the first inning. Haseley hit the first pitch of the inning to left-center for a double and was bunted over by Ernie Clement (So., Rochester, N.Y.). Matt Thaiss (Jr., Jackson, N.J.) reached on an errant throw by shortstop Turner Brown, with Haseley coming home on the play. Left fielder Dwanya Williams-Sutton then dropped a long fly ball by Daniel Pinero (Jr., Toronto, Ontario), allowing Thaiss to score.
The Cavaliers pushed their lead to 4-0 in the third inning. Haseley led off with a single and moved to third on an errant pickoff throw by Boyd. Clement doubled down the left-field line to plate Haseley and back-to-back grounders by Thaiss and Smith brought Clement home.
ECU threatened by loading the bases with one out in the fourth inning, but Doyle got Kirk Morgan to hit a shallow fly to center before striking out Brown.
The Pirates broke through in the seventh as Williams-Sutton hit a leadoff double, moved to third on a groundout and scored on a safety squeeze by Brown. ECU added a run in the eighth as Parker Lamm reached on an infield single and went to second on a throwing error by shortstop Justin Novak (So., Tokyo, Japan). After a groundout moved the runner to third, Lamm came home on safety squeeze from Travis Watkins.
ECU got its leadoff runner on base against Bettinger in the ninth inning, but the UVA reliever retired the next three batters in order, capped with a strikeouts looking of pinch hitter Luke Bolka.
Virginia continues its 10-game homestand at 3 p.m. Tuesday against William & Mary. The Cavaliers play host to Monmouth next weekend (Friday through Sunday) in a three-game non-conference series.
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