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#2 Seeded Virginia Baseball Falls To #7 Seed Duke In First Round Of ACC Tournament, 6-5
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May 26, 2004
SALEM, Va. – The #2 seeded University of Virginia baseball team dropped a 6-5 decision to the #7 seeded Duke Blue Devils in the first round of the 2004 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament at the Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium. UVa led by the score of 2-0 early before falling behind 6-3 before mounting a late run. However, the Cavaliers came up short and were knocked off by the Blue Devils by one run. The loss snapped Virginia’s 10-game winning streak against Duke and drops UVa’s record to 1-5 all-time against the Blue Devils in the ACC Tournament.
Virginia took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Mark Reynolds walked to reach base before scoring a run three batters later on a RBI-single through the right side by Matt Dunn. UVa extended its lead to 2-0 in the bottom of the second inning when Scott Headd reached second base on a Blue Devil error when Duke’s left fielder Javier Socorro dropped a fly ball. After a sacrifice bunt by Kyle Werman to advance Headd to third base, Headd scored a run in the Cavaliers’ next at-bat on a RBI-single to center field by Tim Henry.
Duke pulled ahead of Virginia in the top of the third inning by plating four runs to take a 4-2 lead. Jonathan Anderson led off the inning with a single before Adam Murray plated him for a run on a RBI-single down the left field line. Murray then scored a run himself two batters later on a RBI-single by Brian Hernandez through the left side to tie the game at 2-2. In the Blue Devils’ next at-bat, Bryan Smith sent a two-run home to over the left field wall to give Duke a 4-2 advantage.
The Cavaliers chipped the Blue Devils’ lead to one run in the bottom of the third inning to make it a 4-3 contest when Reynolds led off the side with a single before he scored a run from third base two batters later on a RBI-ground out by Joe Koshansky.
But in the top of the fourth inning, the game was halted due to heavy rain and was held up in a rain delay after two hours and 43 minutes.
When play resumed, Duke tacked on a pair of runs in the top of the fourth inning and took a 6-3 lead when John Berger (single) and Anderson (double) connected on back-to-back hits before each baserunner scored a run following a RBI-single by Socorro through the right side before Murray posted a sacrifice fly to center field.
Virginia scored a run in the bottom of the sixth inning and made it a 6-4 ballgame when Scott Headd singled to center field and advanced an extra base on a Blue Devil error before scoring a run two batters later on a RBI-single on a bunt to the right side by Henry.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, UVa clawed its way to within one run of Duke by making the score 6-5 when Tom Hagan sent a solo home run over the left field wall. Hagan’s home run was his first of the season and the second of his career.
However, UVa was unable to plate the game-tying run and fell to Duke by one run, 6-5.
UVa starting pitcher Joe Koshansky (7-3) took the loss and went 3.0 innings and allowed four runs on seven hits to go along with two strikeouts. The Blue Devils’ Tim Layden (6-5) picked up the win after tossing 6.0 innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits and struck out a team-high eight batters. Duke starting pitcher Greg Burke went 3.0 innings and allowed three run (two earned) on five hits in a no-decision.
With the loss, Virginia’s record falls to 42-12 overall. The victory improves Duke’s record to 25-29 on the season. UVa is now 0-1 in the tournament, while the Blue Devils improve to 1-0 in the event.
The Cavaliers will return to action on Thursday, May 27th when Virginia faces the loser of the #3 Florida State vs. #6 N.C. State contest which will be played later tonight.
— UVa —