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Baseball Defeats Richmond 9-7
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April 14, 1998
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Senior second baseman Ryan Gilleland (Forest, Va.) went 4-for-4 with a stolen base and two runs scored to lead the University of Virginia baseball team to a 9-7 victory over Richmond. With his four hits in the game, Gilleland extended his current hitting streak to 11 games. The Cavaliers improve to 21-16-1 on the season with the victory, while the Spiders fall to 28-10-1.
Richmond jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with single runs in the first and second innings. John Wagler hit an RBI single in the first, while Jeff Kenney came through with an RBI single in the second. The Cavaliers responded with three runs in the bottom of the second to take a 3-2 lead. Senior outfielder E.J. Anderson (Mechanicsville, Va.) led off with a single to center field to move his hitting streak to 21 games. Gilleland followed with his first single, then junior designated hitter Javier Lopez (Fairfax, Va.) hit a two-run double to left field to tie up the game. After moving to third on a groundout, Lopez came in to score on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore shortstop Tim LaVigne (Virginia Beach, Va.).
The Spiders regained the lead with two runs in the top of the fifth inning. Nate Rewers led off with a double, then came in to score on an RBI single by Jeff Wood. With two outs later in the inning, Josh Lamberg would hit an RBI double to give Richmond the lead at 4-3.
Virginia took the lead for good with three more runs in the bottom of the fifth. LaVigne led off the inning with a double and came in to score on an RBI single by junior outfielder Julian Gonzalez (Avon Park, Fla.), who would go 2-for-3 with three RBI on the day. Senior third baseman Brian Sherlock (Medford, N.J.) then hit an RBI triple to right field, giving the Cavaliers the lead. Sherlock later scored on a wild pitch to make the score 6-4 after five innings.
The Cavaliers added three more runs in the bottom of the sixth to increase their lead to 9-4. Gilleland led off with a single, moved to third on a pair of wild pitches, then scored on an RBI single by sophomore catcher Josh Bowling (Springfield, Va.). After freshman first baseman Hunter Wyant (White Hall, Va.) drew a walk, Gonzalez hit a two-run double to conclude the Cavaliers’ scoring. Richmond would then score three runs in the top of the ninth inning on a three-run double by Wagler.
Freshman lefthander Greg Withelder (Wallingford, Pa.) picked up the victory for the Cavaliers, striking out eight batters in five innings while allowing four runs on 10 hits. Freshman lefthander Brandon Creswell (Newport News, Va.) earned the save, striking out two in one inning while allowing no runs and one hit. Righthander Robbie Preston took the loss for Richmond, allowing four runs on five hits in 3-2/3 innings.
Virginia returns to action tomorrow, Apr. 15, when it travels to Virginia Tech for a 3:00 p.m. game.
Virginia 9, Richmond 7 R H EUR (28-10-1) 110 020 003 - 7 14 0UVa (21-16-1) 030 033 00X - 9 12 1UR: Curtis Brown, Robbie Preston (2), Vince Froio (6), Dan Friel (8) and Josh Lamberg, Mike Clear (8); UVa: Greg Withelder, Tommy Keiper (6), Brandon Creswell (9) and Josh Bowling; 2B: Jeff Kenney (UR), Nate Rewers (UR), John Wagler (UR), Josh Lamberg (UR), Dan Phipps (UR), Julian Gonzalez (UVa), Javier Lopez (UVa), Tim LaVigne (UVa); 3B: Brian Sherlock (UVa). Win: Withelder (2-2); Loss: Preston (2-3); Save: Creswell (2).