Three pitchers combined for a one-hit shutout as Virginia (14-10) topped Longwood (6-16), 6-0 in non-conference action at Disharoon Park. The shutout was the third of the season for the Cavalier pitching staff.
Making his first career start on the mound, junior Grant Donahue (Berlin, Md.) was efficient in five innings of work, allowing just two base runners. He sat down the first 10 batters he faced and surrendered the lone Longwood hit in the top of the fourth. Donahue struck out four batters and earned his first win of the season.
“I thought that was a really good bounce back for us,” head coach Brian O’Connor said. “I thought Grant Donahue was terrific in his first start and I thought we did enough offensively, certainly in the first part of the game.
After being held to three runs in three games over the weekend, the Cavaliers plated five runs between their first three at bats. Junior Andy Weber (Aurora, Ohio) reached base four times in the contest and finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Senior Charlie Cody (Chesapeake, Va.) also put forth a multi-hit effort, going 2-for-3 with a run scored.
An infield single by Caleb Knight (Checotah, Okla.) scored Cayman Richardson (Mechanicsville, Va.) for the game’s first run in the bottom of the first. The next batter, Nate Eikhoff (Bristow, Va.), executed a squeeze play to score Weber, giving the Cavaliers the early 2-0 advantage.
The RBI for Knight was his 15th of the season, the third most on the team. He has now reached safely in nine-straight games.
Virginia added to its lead with a three-run third inning. The big blow in the frame came on a dropped fly ball up against the wall in right-center field. The error allowed two runs to score and placed Eikhoff on third base. He’d later score on an RBI double by Cameron Comer (Powell, Ohio).
Longwood used seven pitchers and two of the game’s six runs were earned. The Lancers limited the Cavaliers to three hits over the final five innings.
Sophomore Bobby Nicholson (Charlottesville, Va.) made his second relief appearance of the year and pitched three hitless innings. He walked two and struck out four in a 42-pitch outing. He yielded to Mack Meyer (San Francisco, Calif.) in the ninth who worked a 1-2-3 inning that included his ninth strikeout of the season.
Virginia will be on the road on Wednesday (March 28) to take on VCU at The Diamond in Richmond. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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