Tyler Wilson (Sr., Midlothian, Va.) gave up just one hit and struck out 11 over 7.2 innings of dominant work to propel the No. 1-ranked Virginia baseball team to a 3-2 victory over No. 16 Miami Saturday afternoon at Davenport Field. Wilson (6-0) allowed only two baserunners on a hit and a walk and tied his career highs in innings pitched and strikeouts.
The teams each have won a game in the series. The rubber game now will begin at 11 a.m. Sunday because of the threat of inclement weather. Please note that Senior Day ceremonies will be held following the conclusion of the game.
Wilson retired the first 17 batters that he faced before allowing a clean double to Shane Rowland with two outs in the sixth. He walked Stephen Perez with two outs in the eighth for his only other baserunner.
UVa closer Branden Kline (So., Bethesda, Md.) got the final four outs to notch his ACC-leading 14th save. Eric Whaley (7-4) pitched six strong innings for Miami, allowing a pair of unearned runs, four hits and two walks while fanning five.
Jared King (Jr., Radford, Va.) and Keith Werman (Jr., Vienna, Va.), UVa’s eight- and nine-hole hitters, respectively, each had a pair of hits for the Cavaliers (44-6, 21-5 ACC). UVa finished with six hits in the contest. Miami (32-17, 17-8) picked up just two hits.
Virginia scored the game’s first run in the third inning. With two outs John Barr (Sr., Ivyland, Pa.) reached on an error by second baseman Zeke DeVoss. He stole second and scored on a John Hicks (Jr., Sandy Hook, Va.) single to center.
The Cavaliers tacked on a run in the sixth inning, again taking advantage of a Miami error. Kenny Swab (Sr., Kernersville, N.C.) reached on a throwing error by DeVoss and scored with two outs on a sharp single to right by Werman.
UVa padded its lead in the seventh on a two-out double by Danny Hultzen (Jr., Bethesda, Md.), scoring Hicks.
That run proved to be critical in the ninth inning when the Hurricanes scored a pair of runs against Kline. DeVoss drew a leadoff walk and with one out Rony Rodriguez also walked. Harold Martinez followed with a single to right, bringing DeVoss home and moving Rodriguez to third. Brad Fieger then hit a foul fly to right field, where David Coleman (Sr., Richmond, Va.) made a sliding catch in the visiting bullpen, with Rodriguez scoring on the sacrifice fly. Dale Carey then hit a chopper on the infield, and shortstop Chris Taylor (So., Virginia Beach, Va.) made a nice snag and threw to King, who scooped up the low throw to cap the win.
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Chris Graham
