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March 16, 1999

GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNC Greensboro exploded for seven runs in the fourth inning and senior righthander Jonathan Jackson struck out nine batters in his second complete game of the season to defeat the University of Virginia 8-4 Tuesday at UNCG Baseball Stadium.

Jeff Smith led off the fourth inning with a walk and advanced to second on a Corey McDonald single. Smith stole third and McDonald stole second on a double steal before Steve Mokan stroked a single to center field to plate both runners, ending an 18-inning scoreless streak by Virginia pitcher Greg Withhelder. Jesse Martin followed Mokan’s hit with a triple to left center and scored on Mark Oetjen’s single to left field. Two batters later, Chris Cook hit his first career triple to left center to knock in Oetjen. Brandon Weber then walked and Corey MCDonald singled to right field to knock in two more runs before Smith was caught stealing to end the inning.

The Spartans added one run off reliever Tommy Keiper in the eighth inning for their final tally.

Virginia took a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Jackson walked leadoff batter Tim LaVigne and then gave up a two-run home run to Luis Giraldo. Mark Rueffert hit a tripe to center field to lead off the fourth and was knocked in on a ground out by David Stone to give the Cavaliers a 3-0 lead, but Virginia managed just one more run in the game when Mike Floyd scored on a fielder’s choice in the seventh.

Jackson gave up five hits in the win and improved to 3-3 on the season. Withleder fell to 2-4, pitching 4.0 innings and giving up seven runs on seven hits with five strikeouts. Keiper pitched 4.0 innings in relief, giving up one run on four hits with three strikeouts.

The teams will play again Wednesday at 3 pm at UNCG Baseball Stadium.

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