Eight is too many: UVA pitching fails in late innings again, State wins, 10-2

It couldn’t get worse for UVA baseball than the seven-run eighth that gave Miami a win on Wednesday. Except that it did get worse.

N.C. State put up eight in the eighth to break a 2-2 tie with the Cavaliers in a 10-2 win Saturday night in the final game of pool play in the 2015 ACC Baseball Championship.

Virginia (34-22) finish pool play with an 0-3 record. The ‘Hoos now await their fate as far as an expected 12th consecutive NCAA Tournament berth when the field is announced on Monday.

Entering pool play on a six-game winning streak, UVA will limp into the NCAA Tournament from Saturday night, which went well for a long stretch.

Throwing Johnny Wholestaff at the Wolfpack (34-20), which had already clinched a spot in Sunday’s championship game against Florida State, three Virginia pitchers held State to two runs on three hits through seven innings.

Then came the eighth, which featured a two-run double by Andrew Knizer that broke the 2-2 tie, an RBI double by Joe Dunand, and the big blow, a grand slam by Bubba Riley that broke the game open.

Alec Bettinger (4-5) took the loss for the Cavs, who were outscored in the three games of pool play by a combined 27-9.