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March 23, 2003
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The University of Virginia baseball team recorded a 6-0 shutout victory over the visiting Duke Blue Devils in the final contest of a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series at the UVa Baseball Stadium. The Cavaliers outscored the Blue Devils 28-3 for the series after winning 13-1 on Friday and 9-2 on Saturday before Sunday’s 6-0 victory. Virginia won its 11th consecutive home contest and is now a perfect 11-0 in Charlottesville this season. UVa road the arm of starting pitcher Chris Gale (seven scoreless innings on the mound) and the hot bat of shortstop Mark Reynolds (3-for-3, three RBI, two runs) who just missed hitting for “the cycle” after posting a home run, triple and single at the plate.
The Cavaliers took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning when Chris Sweet reached first base after being hit by a pitch before scoring a run three batters later on a RBI-single through the left side by Paul Gillispie. UVa added another run to its total in the bottom of the third inning to stretch its lead to 2-0 when Matt Dunn led off the inning with a triple down the left field line before Reynolds drove him in to score a run with a RBI, sacrifice fly to center field.
Virginia extended its lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning starting with the Cavaliers’ Reynolds blasting a two-run home run to left-center field to make it a 4-0 contest. The home run was Reynolds’ fourth of the season. UVa’s Joe Koshansky later singled before scoring a run two batters later on a RBI, sacrifice fly to left field by Sweet to give the Cavaliers a 5-0 lead.
UVa tacked on another run in the bottom of the seventh inning when Reynolds was hit by a pitch to reach base before Sweet drove him in to score a run three batters later when Sweet connected on a RBI-single to center field. Sweet’s hits and Reynolds’ run gave the Cavaliers a 6-0 advantage through seven complete innings of play.
UVa’s Gale (2-1) picked up his second win of the season after pitching seven scoreless innings and allowed just three hits to go along with five strikeouts. Duke starting pitcher Kevin Thompson (2-5) took the loss and lasted only 4.1 innings after surrendering five runs on six hits with one strikeout.
With the victory, Virginia’s record improved to 13-8 overall, 3-3 in the ACC. The loss dropped Duke’s record to 12-13 overall, 0-3 in the conference. UVa swept the Blue Devils in a three-game series for the second consecutive year after also sweeping Duke last year three games to none in Durham, N.C. on March 22-24, 2002.
The Cavaliers will return to home action on Tuesday, March 25th when UVa hosts the James Madison Dukes in a non-conference game. The contest was not originally on Virginia’s 2003 schedule, it was a game that was added last week. First pitch is schedule for 4:00 PM at Davenport Field at the UVa Baseball Stadium.
— UVa —