Home No. 18 UVA blasts ODU, 18-5
Sports

No. 18 UVA blasts ODU, 18-5

Contributors

uva baseballPavin Smith (Jr., Jupiter, Fla.) and Adam Haseley (Jr., Windermere, Fla.) combined to hit three home runs and drive in 10 runs as the No. 18 UVA baseball team defeated Old Dominion, 18-5, Tuesday evening at Davenport Field. Smith ripped a pair of home runs, including a grand slam, and drove in a career-high seven runs, while Haseley homered, scored four runs and drove in three.

“It’s a really big win for us, coming off a difficult loss on Sunday,” Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor said. “We certainly didn’t expect that. Old Dominion has 22 wins and has been playing very good baseball. I thought our guys came out locked in offensively. The wind was blowing out and certainly impacted a few of those balls, and our guys were swinging the bats very aggressively and had a really good two-strike approach.”

Virginia (22-8) scored multiple runs in each of the first five innings and six in all as it recorded its highest run total in 63 games all-time against Old Dominion (22-7). Haseley and Smith each were 3-for-4, while Nate Eikhoff (So., Bristow, Va.) also had three hits as the Cavaliers racked up 18 in the game. Cameron Simmons (So., Royersford, Pa.) also homered for UVA.

Virginia starting pitcher Chesdin Harrington (So., Monteplier, Va.) worked 3 1/3 innings, allowing two runs, two hits and a walk to earn the win and improve to 2-1 on the year. Riley Wilson (Jr., Midlothian, Va.) racked up a career-high six strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings of relief work before Jack Roberts (Sr., Richmond, Va.) and Tyler Shambora (Sr., Venice, Fla.) combined to pitch the final two innings.

ODU starter Morgan Maguire (3-2) allowed six runs and seven hits in two innings in taking the loss. The Monarchs used six pitchers in the game.

ODU struck first with a one-out solo homer to right field from Vinnie Pasquantino in the top of the first inning, but UVA countered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning, getting three straight singles from Haseley, Smith and Robbie Coman (Gr., Lake Worth, Fla.).

After ODU tied the game in the top of the second on a Kyle Battle sac fly, UVA got a two-run double in the bottom of the inning from Andy Weber (So., Aurora, Ohio), and Haseley followed with a mammoth two-run home run off the top of the scoreboard in right-center field. It was his ninth blast of the year.

The Cavaliers blew the game open with five runs in the third, capped by a grand slam to center field from Smith. It was his third career grand slam, including a pair in the last three games (Saturday vs. Louisville).

UVA pushed its lead to 12-2 with three runs in the fourth, with Caleb Knight (Jr., Checotah, Okla.) ripping a run-scoring double before Jake McCarthy (So., Scranton, Pa.) hit a two-run single up the middle to plate Eikhoff and Knight.

ODU scored in the fifth on a two-out double from Nick Walker, but UVA came back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame on Smith’s towering two-run blast to right. It marked his second career multi-home run game and gave him seven RBI in the game, most by a Cavalier since Kenny Towns drove in eight on Feb. 15, 2013, at East Carolina.

The Cavaliers tacked on a pair of runs in the seventh inning on a pinch-hit, two-run home run to right-center by Simmons, his second homer of the year. It was UVA’s first pinch-hit home run since Shane Halley came off the bench for a pinch-hit blast on April 20, 2011, against Richmond.

Virginia continues a busy stretch of home games at 5 p.m. Wednesday when it entertains George Washington. UVA plays host to Pittsburgh Friday through Sunday in a three-game ACC series.

Contributors

Contributors

Have a guest column, letter to the editor, story idea or a news tip? Email editor Chris Graham at [email protected]. Subscribe to AFP podcasts on Apple PodcastsSpotifyPandora and YouTube.