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March 6, 2001
Up Next For UVa: Virginia (7-4) will hit the road and play six game featuring contests with the Florida State Seminoles (March 9-11), the High Point Panthers (March 12) and the UNC-Greensboro Spartans (March 13-14) before returning home to Charlottesville, Va. to play 13 consecutive home games beginning with a three-game ACC series against the Duke Blue Devils (March 16-18).
Weather Causes Cancellations With Seton Hall & Old Dominion: Due to inclement weather, Virginia’s scheduled games with Seton Hall (3/4) and Old Dominion (3/6) have been cancelled. The SHU contest was cancelled due to heavy rain, while the ODU game was called due to low temperatures and wind.
Koshansky Goes The Distance In UVa’s 2-1 Victory Over Seton Hall: LHP Joseph Koshansky pitched a complete game (9.0 innings) and allowed only one run (unearned) on seven hits with four strikeouts in Virginia’s 2-1 victory over Seton Hall (3/3).
Riesenfeld Records Game-Winning Hit: UVa catcher Andrew Riesenfeld recorded the game-winning hit when he posted an RBI-double that scored teammate Mark Rueffert in the bottom of the seventh inning during Virginia’s 2-1 victory over Seton Hall (3/3).
Stone Shines For UVa In Loss: LF David Stone finished 3-5 at the plate with two doubles and an RBI in Virginia’s 9-4 loss to Seton Hall (3/3).
Collins & Gale Make UVa Debut Against Seton Hall: First-year pitchers Ty Collins and Christopher Gale each made their UVa debut against Seton Hall (3/3). Collins pitched 2.0 innings and recorded two strikeouts, while Gale pitched 1.0 inning and posted one strikeout.
Cavaliers Gather First Road Win of 2001 Season: With its 13-10 victory at Liberty (3/1), Virginia earned its first road game victory of the 2001 season.
Benick Blasts Back-To-Back Home Runs in Victory Over Liberty: In Virginia’s 13-10 victory over Liberty (3/1), Jon Benick had an outstanding showing and was a one-man wrecking crew against the Flames’ pitchers. Benick finished 3-6 at the plate with four RBI and two runs scored and hit two home runs in his first two at-bats in the contest. He became the first Cavalier since Ben Himes (April 29, 2000 at Maryland) to hit two home runs in a game.
Five Cavaliers Record Three Hits Against Liberty: Hunter Wyant (3-5), Andrew Riesenfeld (3-5) , Chris Sweet (3-5), Jon Benick (3-6) and Dan Street (3-6) each posted three hits apiece in Virginia’s 13-10 victory over Liberty (3/1).
Starr Records First Win of 2001 Season: Alexander “Shooter” Starr pitched 2.0 innings and recorded three strikeouts as he closed out the game to earn his first victory of the season in Virginia’s 13-10 win over Liberty (3/1).
Virginia Records 20 Hits in Victory Over Liberty: The Cavaliers recorded 20 hits in a game for the first time since Virginia’s 20-hit outing against Duke on March 20, 1999.
Cavaliers Drop First Road Game of 2001 Season: Virginia lost its first road game of the 2001 season after UVa dropping a 7-6 decision in 11 innings to the VCU Rams at The Diamond in Richmond, Va (2/28).
Vroman & Sweet Come up Big For Virginia in Close Loss: Doug Vroman (4-5, 3 runs, 2 RBI, double) and Chris Sweet (3-5, run) came up big for Virginia in the Cavaliers 7-6 loss at VCU (2/28). Vroman’s had a career day at the plate. His five at-bats, four hits, three runs and two RBI were all career-highs. Sweet tied two career-highs with his five at-bats and three hits.
Hurrie Makes First Appearance: RHP Mark Hurrie made his first start of the 2001 season at VCU (2/28). Hurrie pitched four innings in the 7-6 loss.
Rueffert Hits UVa’s First Grand Slam Since 1998: Mark Rueffert hit a grand slam for UVa in Virginia’s 15-4 victory over Penn State (2/24). Rueffert’s grand slam was the first by a UVa player since Julian Gonzalez hit one on February 28, 1998 against Seton Hall.
Rueffert Records Game-Winning Hit: With the game tied at 5-5 in the bottom of the ninth inning with the bases loaded and two outs, Mark Rueffert recorded the game-winning hit when he ripped the ball up the middle to center field to score teammate Shawn McCleary, giving Virginia a 6-5 victory over Penn State (2/24).
Stone Has a Huge Day at the Plate: David Stone was a key contributor in Virginia’s 15-4 victory over Penn State (2/24). The left fielder went 4-5 (including a double) at the plate and recorded three RBI and three runs in the victory.
Creswell Improves to 2-0: LHP Brandon Creswell improved his pitching record to 2-0 after throwing 7.0 innings in Virginia’s 15-4 victory over Penn State (2/24). He allowed four runs (two earned) on seven hits with a game-high five strikeouts.
Vroman Records Three Runs, Two Hits and One RBI in First Collegiate Game At-Bat: UVa center fielder Doug Vroman went 2-5 at the plate with three runs scored and one RBI in his first game with at-bats. Vroman was making his batting and center fielding debut after appearing in six games last season as a pitcher.
McCleary Helps Spark UVa to 6-5 Win: OF Shawn McCleary finished 3-4 at the plate with two RBI and two runs scored to help Virginia pull out a 6-5 victory over Penn State (2/24). McCleary scored the game-winning run when teammate Mark Rueffert ripped a single up the middle to allow McCleary to score.
Starr Shines in Limited Action: RHP Shooter Starr recorded three strikeouts and held seven Penn State batters hitless through 2.0 innings of work in UVa’s 15-4 win over the Nittany Lions (2/24).
Hansard Hits Form: LHP Greg Hansard hit his form in Virginia’s 6-5 victory over Penn State (2/24). Hansard recorded his first collegiate win and struck out two of the three batters he faced in the Cavaliers one-run victory to help preserve the Virginia win.
Cavaliers Win 2001 Home Opener: Virginia opened its 2001 season with a great start, a 9-1 victory against the U.S. Naval Academy (2/17). Virginia went on to win all three games of the weekend series with Navy (9-1, 10-3, 6-2). Last season, UVa tied Old Dominion by the score of 14-14 in their 2000 home opener.
Rueffert Red-Hot!: UVa catcher Mark Rueffert had an outstanding three-game series against Navy (Feb. 17-18). For the series, Rueffert finished 6-10 (.600) at the plate with five RBI and four runs scored. He gathered 15 putouts and hit Virginia’s first homerun of the season in the series.
Koshansky Makes UVa Debut in Style: First-year pitcher/designated hitter Joseph Koshansky had a superb start to his UVa baseball career. After going 1-2 at the plate with a run scored in Virginia’s season-opening 9-1 victory over Navy (2/17) as the designated hitter, Koshansky took the mound in the next game and pitched seven strong innings and struck out a game-high seven batters en route to his first collegiate win as a pitcher.
Street Shines in Pitching Appearance, Named ACC Pitcher of the Week: Third-year pitcher/second baseman Dan Street picked right up this year where he left off from last season on the mound. Street, who finished 4-0 with a 0.69 ERA in 2000, pitched seven scoreless innings by striking out a game-high six batters and allowed only two hits in Virginia’s 6-2 victory over Navy – his first pitching appearance of the season. For his accomplishment, he was named the ACC Pitcher of the Week.
Rueffert, Benick and Word Go Yard: UVa catcher Mark Rueffert hit Virginia’s first homerun of the season, a three-run shot in Virginia’s 9-1 victory over Navy (2/17). Third baseman Jon Benick and first baseman Robert Word followed Rueffert’s lead, and the pair each recorded a two-run shot in Virginia’s 10-3 victory over Navy in the next game.
Creswell Opens Season in Winning Fashion: Fourth-year pitcher Brandon Creswell opened the 2001 season as one of UVa’s top pitchers, and looked exactly like one after pitching a complete game in Virginia’s 9-1 season-opening victory over Navy (2/17). Creswell pitched nine innings and allowed only one run to go along with his game-high six strikeouts.
Wyant Posts Virginia’s First Extra-Base Hit in 2001: UVa short stop Hunter Wyant recorded Virginia’s first extra-base hit of the season. Wyant went 2-4 at the plate with a run scored and hit a triple in Virginia’s 9-1 victory over Navy (2/17).
Womack’s Coaching Numbers Keep Rising: On March 11th, 2000, Dennis Womack coached in his 1000th career game as a head coach when Virginia faced Eastern Michigan. Four days later (March 15), Womack earned his 500th career victory as a head coach when Virginia defeated Princeton by the score of 5-2. Although the win was just another victory to Womack, the victory marked yet another one of his many great accomplishments as head coach of the Virginia baseball program.
Last season, Virginia finished 26-31-1 overall, 10-14 in the ACC. After opening the 2000 season with a slow start, the Cavaliers cruised en route to winning 26 of their remaining 51 games. UVa went 26-25 (.510) in that span, including a 2-2 mark in the ACC Tournament. With the exception of Georgia Tech, the Cavaliers won at least one game against every conference opponent in their regular season series with ACC schools.
Womack’s overall coaching record now stands at 522-521-7 through 1050 games.
Virginia Tabbed Seventh in 2001 ACC Baseball Coaches Preseason Poll: The Atlantic Coast Conference’s nine head coaches picked the University of Virginia baseball team to finish seventh in the 2001 ACC Preseason Baseball Coaches Poll. The Cavaliers return 15 lettermen and four starters from last seasons team that finished 26-31-1 overall, 10-14 in the conference.
2001 ACC Coaches Preseason Baseball Poll1. Georgia Tech (9) 812. Clemson 693. Florida State 644. Wake Forest 555. North Carolina 405. N.C. State 407. VIRGINIA 268. Duke 189. Maryland 12
2001 Multiple-Hit Games
No. Player (Runs) Date Opponent (game)1. Mark Rueffert (3) 2/17 Navy (1)2. Hunter Wyant (2) 2/17 Navy (1)3. Jon Benick (2) 2/17 Navy (2)4. Mark Rueffert (2) 2/17 Navy (2)5. Shawn McCleary (2) 2/17 Navy (2)6. Jon Benick (2) 2/18 Navy (3)7. David Stone (4) 2/24 Penn State (4)8. Jon Benick (2) 2/24 Penn State (4)9. Mark Rueffert (2) 2/24 Penn State (4)10. Doug Vroman (2) 2/24 Penn State (4)11. Shawn McCleary (3) 2/24 Penn State (5)12. David Stone (2) 2/24 Penn State (5)13. Jon Benick (2) 2/24 Penn State (5)14. Hunter Wyant (2) 2/24 Penn State (5)15. Hunter Wyant (2) 2/25 Penn State (6)16. Chris Sweet (2) 2/25 Penn State (6)17. Doug Vroman (2) 2/25 Penn State (6)18. Chris Sweet (2) 2/27 William & Mary (7)19. Doug Vroman (4) 2/28 @ VCU (8)20. Chris Sweet (3) 2/28 @ VCU (8)21. Hunter Wyant (2) 2/28 @ VCU (8)22. Jon Benick (2) 2/28 @ VCU (8)23. Jon Benick (3) 3/1 @ Liberty (9)24. Hunter Wyant (3) 3/1 @ Liberty (9)25. Dan Street (3) 3/1 @ Liberty (9)26. Andrew Riesenfeld (3) 3/1 @ Liberty (9)27. Chris Sweet (3) 3/1 @ Liberty (9)28. Robert Word (2) 3/1 @ Liberty (9)29. David Stone (2) 3/1 @ Liberty (9)30. David Stone (3) 3/3 Seton Hall (10)31. Jon Benick (2) 3/3 Seton Hall (10)32. Chris Sweet (2) 3/3 Seton Hall (10)33. Mark Rueffert (2) 3/3 Seton Hall (11)
2001 Multiple-RBI Games
No. Player (Runs) Date Opponent (game)1. Mark Rueffert (3) 2/17 Navy (1)2. Shawn McCleary (2) 2/17 Navy (1)3. Robert Word (3) 2/17 Navy (2)4. Jon Benick (2) 2/17 Navy (2)5. Shawn McCleary (2) 2/17 Navy (2)6. Hunter Wyant (2) 2/18 Navy (3)7. Mark Rueffert (6) 2/24 Penn State (4)8. David Stone (3) 2/24 Penn State (4)9. Jon Benick (3) 2/24 Penn State (4)10. Shawn McCleary (2) 2/24 Penn State (5)11. Mark Rueffert (2) 2/25 Penn State (6)12. Jon Benick (2) 2/25 Penn State (6)13. Robert Word (2) 2/27 William & Mary (7)14. Doug Vroman (2) 2/28 @ VCU (8)15. Hunter Wyant (2) 2/28 @ VCU (8)16. Jon Benick (4) 3/1 @ Liberty (9)17. Dan Street (2) 3/1 @ Liberty (9)
2001 Home Runs
No. Player (Runs) Date Opponent (game)1. Mark Rueffert (3) 2/17 Navy (1)2. Jon Benick (2) 2/17 Navy (2)3. Robert Word (2) 2/17 Navy (2)4. Mark Rueffert (4) 2/24 Penn State (4)5. Jon Benick (2) 3/1 @ Liberty (9)6. Jon Benick (2) 3/1 @ Liberty (9)7. Mark Rueffert (1) 3/3 Seton Hall (10)
Solo HRs: 12-Run HRs: 43-Run HRs: 1Grand Slams: 1
2001 Cavalier Firsts
BattingAt bat: David Stone (2/17 vs. Navy)Hit: Hunter Wyant (triple on 2/17 vs. Navy)Run: Mark Rueffert (2/17 vs. Navy)RBI: Chris Sweet (2/17 vs. Navy)Extra-base hit: Hunter Wyant (triple on 2/17 vs. Navy)Double: Shawn McCleary (2/17 vs. Navy)Triple: Hunter Wyant (2/17 vs. Navy)Home run: Mark Rueffert (2/17 vs. Navy)Base runner: Hunter Wyant (2/17 vs. Navy)Walk: Dan Street (2/17 vs. Navy)Strike out: Dan Street (2/17 vs. Navy)Hit batsman: Dan Street (2/24 vs. Penn State)Sacrifice bunt: David Stone (2/17 vs. Navy)Sacrifice fly: Mark Rueffert (2/17 vs. Navy)Stolen base attempt: Jon Benick (2/17 vs. Navy)Stolen base: Jon Benick (2/17 vs. Navy)Caught stealing: Mark Rueffert (2/17 vs. Navy)
PitchingWin: Brandon Creswell (2/17 vs. Navy)Loss: Alan Zimmerer (2/25 vs. Penn State)Save: Jeffery Kamrath (2/17 vs. Navy)Complete game: Brandon Creswell (2/17 vs. Navy)Shutout: n/aStrike out: Brandon Creswell (2/17 vs. Navy)Walk: Brandon Creswell (2/17 vs. Navy)Wild pitch: Joseph Koshansky (2/17 vs. Navy)Hit batsman: Alexander “Shooter” Starr (2/17 vs. Navy)Balk: Mark Hurrie (2/28 @ VCU).
FieldingPutout: Chris Sweet (2/17 vs, Navy)Assist: Dan Street (2/17 vs. Navy)Fielding error: Jon Benick (2/17 vs. Navy)
2001 Big InningsVirginiaFirst: 4, vs. Navy (2/17)Second: 4, @ Liberty (3/1)Third: 2, vs. William & Mary (2/27)Fourth: 3, vs. VCU (2/28)Fifth: 8, vs. Navy (2/17)Sixth: 10, vs. Penn State (2/24)Seventh: 2, vs. Navy (2/17)Eighth: 2, vs. Penn State (2/24), Navy (2/17), Seton Hall (3/3)Ninth: 3, vs, William & Mary (2/27), vs. Liberty (3/1)Tenth: 0.Eleventh: 0.
OpponentFirst: 2, vs. Penn State (2/25)Second: 2, @ Liberty (3/1), Seton Hall (3/3)Third: 2, vs. Penn State (2/24), VCU (2/28), Seton Hall (3/3)Fourth: 2, VCU (2/28), vs. Liberty (3/1), Seton Hall (3/3)Fifth: 3, vs. William & Mary (2/27)Sixth: 3, Seton Hall (3/3)Seventh: 4, vs. Penn State (2/24)Eighth: 2, @ Liberty (3/1)Ninth: 3, vs. William & Mary (2/27)Tenth: 1, vs. Penn State (2/25)Eleventh: 1, VCU (2/28)
ACC Series Sweeps UVa in Charlottesville...Clemson: May 6-7, 1972Duke: March 19-20, 1999 (2)Florida State: NeverGeorgia Tech: March 28-29, 1987 (2)Maryland: May 10-11, 1997North Carolina: May 6, 1961 (2)N.C. State: May 15, 1970 (2)Wake Forest: April 19-21, 1996
UVa on the road …Clemson: NeverDuke: March 25, 1989 (2)Florida State: NeverGeorgia Tech: April 15-16, 1980 (2)Maryland: April 27-28, 1990 (2)North Carolina: none on recordN.C. State: May 9, 1969 (2)Wake Forest: April 29, 1972 (2)
Opponent vs. UVa in Charlottesville …Clemson: April 1-3, 1994Duke: April 12, 1968 (2)Florida State: May 9-10, 1998Georgia Tech: March 11-13, 1994Maryland: April 18, 1979 (2)North Carolina: April 8-10, 1994N.C. State: April 17-18, 1993Wake Forest: April 24-26, 1998
Opponent vs. UVa on the road …Clemson: March 14-16, 1997Duke: March 13-15, 1998Florida State: March 12-14, 1999Georgia Tech: April 14-16, 2000Maryland: April 29-May 1, 1994North Carolina: April 16-18, 1999N.C. State: March 25-26, 1994Wake Forest: April 9-11, 1999