Virginia Cruises Past Maryland-Eastern Shore in a Doubleheader, 15-1 & 6-0
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April 13, 2005
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia Cavaliers (24-11) swept a non-conference doubleheader from the Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks (6-31) in a pair of seven-inning contests, 15-1 and 6-0, at Davenport Field at the UVa Baseball Stadium. Virginia pounded out 14 hits and scored a season-high 15 runs in its 14-run victory in game one, before the Cavaliers posted a school-record ninth shutout of the season following a 6-0 blanking of the Hawks in the second contest of the doubleheader. The DH with UMES marked the fourth game UVa has played against teams from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference this season as the Cavaliers outscored their MEAC opponents 49-3 in those contests.
“Today was a great doubleheader sweep for us,” said UVa head baseball coach Brian O’Connor. “Our pitching threw very, very well today and it was great to get a lot of different guys in the game and different pitchers out there on the mound. Doubleheaders are hard to sweep in baseball, and I was proud of the way our guys came out and played hard all day today. Now we have got to turn our attention to a very challenging series down at Clemson this weekend. It’s going to be a very critical series for our season.”
In game one of the doubleheader, Virginia broke a 1-0 contest wide open in the bottom of the third inning by scoring eight runs on six hits in the side to make it a 9-0 ballgame. The Cavaliers batted through their line-up and eight of the nine batters in the order reached base and scored a run. UVa posted a home run, a triple, a double and three singles and managed two walks and had one player reach base after being hit by a pitch to essentially put the game away. Virginia’s Sean Doolittle went 2-for-2 at the plate in the third inning alone with four RBI and scored a run after he hit his team-leading seventh home run of the season along with posting his first collegiate triple in the inning.
UVa came right back in the bottom of the fourth inning and scored five more runs on three hits to increase its lead to 14-0 after four innings of play. The side was highlighted by Ryan Zimmerman’s three-run home run, his fifth home run of the season.
UVa tacked on a run in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a 15-0 lead before Maryland-Eastern Shore scored its lone run of the doubleheader in the top of the seventh inning to make the final score of game one 15-1.
Virginia’s duo of Doolittle and Zimmerman went a combined 4-for-5 at the plate with nine RBI, three runs, two home runs, one triple and a double in game one. Doolittle finished 2-for-2 at the plate with four RBI and one run while Zimmerman went 2-for-3 at the plate with five RBI and scored two runs in the first contest.
UVa starting pitcher Josh Myers (1-0) pitched 5.0 scoreless innings and scattered three hits while striking out a game-high three batters to post his first win of the season. The victory was his second win as a Cavalier. Virginia’s Scott Morgenthaler and Erick Chandler each pitched an inning in relief to close out the contest. Chandler’s appearance was his first as a Cavalier.
UMES’s Ken Richardson (1-7) took the loss after going just 2.2 innings and allowed eight runs (seven earned) on eight hits and walked two batters.
In game two of the doubleheader, Virginia essentially sealed the game in the bottom of the first inning by scoring five of the contest’s six runs to take an early 5-0 lead. Five of the first six Cavaliers that stepped to the plate reached base and scored a run as UVa scored its five runs on five hits, highlighted by three RBI-doubles by the trio of Zimmerman, Brandon Guyer and Ryan Hudson.
Virginia carried its 5-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth inning before adding another run to its total when Guyer doubled to lead off the side before he scored a run two batters later on a RBI sacrifice fly by Anthony Martinez to make it 6-0.
UVa’s Pat McAnaney (4-0) remained perfect on the mound as he posted his fourth win of the year after going 4.0 scoreless innings in game two. McAnaney allowed no runs on two hits and struck out a game-high four batters. UVa’s Jordan Ellis, Alex Smith and Allie Swanson tallied an inning in relief duty to close out the game. Swanson’s appearance was his first as a Cavalier.
The Hawks’ Bernie Stratchko (0-2) took the loss after going just 0.1 of an inning and allowed five runs on five hits before being pulled off the mound.
With the two victories, Virginia’s record improves to 24-11 overall on the season. The two losses drops Maryland-Eastern Shore’s record to 6-31 on the year.
UVa will return to action on April 15-17 when the Cavaliers travel to Clemson, S.C. to face the Clemson Tigers in a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series at the Tigers’ Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Virginia and Clemson are schedule to play on Friday, April 15th at 7:15 PM; Saturday, April 16th at 4:00 PM and on Sunday, April 17th at 1:00 PM.
— UVa —