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March 29, 1998

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Freshman designated hitter Mark Rueffert (Herndon, Va.) went 2-for-3 with a double and a pair of RBI to lead the University of Virginia baseball team to a 12-7 win over North Carolina. With the victory, the Cavaliers bested the Tar Heels two games to one in their three-game series. Virginia improves to 17-10 overall and 3-8 in the Atlantic Coast Conference with the win, while North Carolina falls to 20-10 overall and 5-3 in the ACC.

North Carolina jumped out to an early lead with two runs in the top of the first inning. Chris LaMarsh had an RBI single to bring in the first run, while Rob Miano brought home the second run with a double. The Cavaliers then responded with five runs in their half of the inning. Senior outfielder E.J. Anderson (Mechanicsville, Va.) and sophomore shortstop Tim LaVigne (Virginia Beach, Va.) both drew bases loaded walks, followed by a three-run double by junior outfielder Julian Gonzalez (Avon Park, Fla.).

Virginia added another run in the bottom of the third when LaVigne walked and scored on an RBI double by Rueffert. The Tar Heels cut the UVa lead to 6-3 in the top of the fourth, as Brian Roberts brought home a run with an RBI groundout. The Cavaliers then put two more runs on the board in the bottom of the fourth, making the score 8-3. Anderson drove in the first run with an RBI groundout, while LaVigne singled to knock in the second run.

The Tar Heels began cutting into the Cavalier lead with three runs in the top of the sixth. The first run came home on a wild pitch, while two more runs scored later in the inning on an error. Roberts then hit an RBI single in the top of seventh to make the score 8-7.

The Cavaliers responded with three runs in the bottom of the seventh to put the game away. Rueffert hit an RBI single to bring in the first run of the inning, while freshman second baseman Hunter Wyant (White Hall, Va.) drove in the second run on a groundout. Senior outfielder Jon Kemmerer (Reston, Va.) would knock in the inning’s final run when he beat out a bunt single. Virginia concluded the scoring with a run in the eighth, as sophomore catcher Josh Bowling (Springfield, Va.) tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly by senior first baseman Ryan Gilleland (Forest, Va.)

Junior lefthander Javier Lopez (Fairfax, Va.) picked up the victory for the Cavaliers, improving his record to 4-1 on the year. Lopez allowed five earned runs on eight hits in 5-1/3 innings of work, while striking out eight. Sophomore righthander Kevin Shrout (Murrysville, Pa.) tossed 2-1/3 innings of scoreless relief, allowing only one hit and striking out five, to earn his second save. Mike Bynum took the loss for the Tar Heels, surrendering five earned runs in only one inning.

Virginia returns to action on Tuesday, Mar. 31, when it plays host to Virginia Commonwealth at 3:00 p.m.

Virginia 12, North Carolina 7

R H EUNC (20-10) 2 0 0 1 0 3 1 0 0 – 7 11 2Virginia (16-10) 5 0 1 2 0 0 3 1 X – 12 10 3

UNC: Mike Bynum, Michael Horney (2), Derrick DePriest (4), Ryan Earey (8) and Dan Moylan; UVa: Javier Lopez, Brandon Creswell (6), Kevin Shrout (7) and Josh Bowling; 2B: Jarrett Shearin 2 (UNC), Rob Miano (UNC), Julian Gonzalez (UVa), Mark Rueffert (UVa); 3B: Josh Bowling (UVa). Win: Lopez (4-1); Loss: Bynum (3-3); Save: Shrout (2).

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