Virginia Sweeps Doubleheader from Penn State

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Feb. 21, 1998

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Senior third baseman Brian Sherlock (Medford, N.J.) went 4-for-7 with two home runs and five RBI as the University of Virginia baseball team swept a doubleheader from Penn State. The Cavaliers posted a 5-2 victory in the opener, followed by a 9-2 win in the nightcap. Virginia now stands 4-1 on the season, while Penn State falls to 1-4.

In the first game, sophomore righthander Casey Kennedy (Boca Raton, Fla.) allowed only two runs in seven innings of work to pick up his second victory of the season. Sherlock knocked in the Cavaliers’ first run with an RBI single in the first inning, but Penn State came back with two runs in top of the second on back-to-back RBI doubles by Shawn Fagan and Eric Spadt to take a 2-1 lead. Sherlock, who was 3-for-4 in the game, then belted a two-run homer in the bottom of the third inning to give Virginia the lead for good at 3-2. The Cavaliers’ final two runs came in the eighth inning, when junior outfielder Javier Lopez (Fairfax, Va.) and Sherlock led off the inning with back-to-back solo home runs. Sophomore righthander Tim LaVigne (Virginia Beach, Va.) closed out the game with 1-2/3 innings of scoreless relief to pick up his second save of the year.

In the second game, sophomore righthander Kevin Shrout (Murrysville, Pa.) threw 3-2/3 innings of scoreless relief to pick up his first victory of the season. Shrout fanned five batters on the day without allowing a hit. Virginia opened the scoring with three runs in the third inning, as senior outfielder E.J. Anderson (Richmond, Va.) and senior second baseman Ryan Gilleland (Forest, Va.) both delivered RBI singles. After Dan Beers hit a solo home run for Penn State in the fourth to cut the lead to 3-1, Sherlock had an RBI single in the fifth to put the Cavaliers up 4-1. Virginia added a pair of unearned runs in the sixth inning, then freshman second baseman Hunter Wyant (White Hall, Va.) had a two-run triple in the seventh to key a three-run Cavalier rally and make the score 9-1. Penn State’s final run came in the ninth inning on an RBI single by Chad Whitmoyer. Virginia freshman starting pitcher Greg Withelder (Wallingford, Pa.) threw 4-1/3 innings, allowing one run on four hits. Penn State committed eight errors in the game, leading to five unearned runs.

The Cavaliers and the Nittany Lions will conclude their series with a single game tomorrow, Feb. 22, at 12:00 p.m.

Virginia 5, Penn State 2 (Game One)            R   H   EPenn State  0   2   0   0   0   0   0   0   0   -   2   10  0Virginia    1   0   2   0   0   0   0   2   X   -   5   9   0

PSU: Nate Bump, Joe Martin (8) and Jeremy Deitrick; UVa: Casey Kennedy, Brandon Creswell (8), Denny Chapman (8), Tim LaVigne (8) and Josh Bowling; 2B: Shawn Fagan (PSU), Eric Spadt 2 (PSU), Tim LaVigne (UVa); HR: Javier Lopez (UVa), Brian Sherlock 2 (UVa).

Win: Kennedy (2-0); Loss: Bump (0-1).

Virginia 9, Penn State 2 (Game Two)            R   H   EPenn State  0   0   0   1   0   0   0   0   1   -   2   5   8Virginia    0   0   3   0   1   2   3   0   X   -   9   8   1

PSU: Dan Goebeler, Peter Yodis (6) and Chris Netwell, Jeremy Deitrick (5), Joe Puliafico (6); UVa: Greg Withelder, Kevin Shrout (5), Tommy Keiper (9) and Mark Rueffert; 3B: Hunter Wyant (UVa), Luis Giraldo (UVa); HR: Dan Beers (PSU).

Win: Shrout (1-0); Loss: Goebeler (1-1).