Ninth-ranked Virginia, shut out for the previous 14 innings, dating back to the ninth inning on Friday night, pushed across three runs in the top of the eighth, on four walks, a sac fly and a seeing-eye single, to salvage the series finale at Boston College, winning 3-1 on Sunday.
Breathe; it will be OK.
“I told our guys in the pregame meeting at the hotel that one of the best feelings in my 34 years of college baseball is to drop the first two of the series, and you have to have a great response and win it. Just that feeling of having an answer and flipping the narrative of the weekend,” first-year Virginia coach Chris Pollard said.
That’s quite the positive attitude there from Pollard, whose team was pantsed on Saturday, losing 17-0 in seven innings.
The ’Hoos (22-7, 7-5 ACC) only managed three hits in the series finale, but the pitching staff held BC (20-9, 8-4 ACC) to two hits and six total baserunners.
Up next
- Virginia returns home for a game on Tuesday at 6 p.m. with ODU (13-14).
The difference was the inability of the BC bullpen to get the ball across the plate. After starter Brady Miller was masterful in seven innings of work – two hits, nine Ks, one walk – Gavin Soares walked the bases loaded, and his replacement, John Kwiatkowski, walked Eric Becker on four pitches to bring home the tying run, and two pitches later, AJ Gracia plated the go-ahead run with a sac fly to center.
Joe Tiroly was intentionally walked, ahead of a Harrison Didawick RBI single.
UVA closer Tyler Kapa closed things out with a pair of 1-2-3 innings.
Freshman John Paone started and gave up a run on one hit, striking out six and walking four in 4.2 innings.
Lucas Hartman (5-0) got the win, allowing a hit in 2.1 innings of scoreless relief.
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Chris Graham
