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Virginia Baseball Pulls Away Late From Longwood, 5-1
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April 20, 2005
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia Cavaliers (26-13) earned a hard-fought 5-1 victory over the visiting Longwood Lancers (14-24) in a non-conference game at Davenport Field at the UVa Baseball Stadium. The Cavaliers used a decisive seventh inning to their advantage as Virginia scored three runs in the side and UVa received a strong pitching performance by first-year Pat McAnaney to post its 26th win of the season and its 21st victory this year at home.
“Pat McAnaney just pitched tremendous for us tonight,” said UVa head baseball coach Brian O’Connor. “This was a really good ballgame for him to pitch. It was a tight game all the way until the seventh inning and any mistake by him could have cost us the game. He pitched very, very well. Fortunately, our offense figured [Clay] Horn out after six innings and we were able to knock him out of the game. It was a good win for us and now we need to turn our attention to the [George Tech] Yellow Jackets. They are at the top of the league (ACC) and it’s a great opportunity for our team this weekend.”
Virginia scored the first run of the game and made it a 1-0 contest in the bottom of the third inning. UVa’s Patrick Wingfield singled up the middle to lead off the side before a failed pickoff attempt to first resulted in an error that allowed him to advance all the way to third base. One batters later, the Cavaliers’ Mike Campagna singled up the middle to drive in Wingfield for a run, giving Virginia a 1-0 lead.
In the top of the sixth inning, Longwood tied the game at 1-1 by manufacturing a run of its own. After Chris Balus and Tyler Ames connected on back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners, Balus scored a run from third base before Ames got caught in a rundown between first and second base on a stolen base attempt with two outs.
But the Cavaliers regained the lead in the bottom of the seventh inning for good and took a 4-1 lead by scoring three runs in the side. UVa’s Ryan Hudson got things started when he reached base after being hit by a pitch before he scored a run two batters later on a RBI-single to center field by Campagna – his second RBI of the game. In Virginia’s next at-bat, Kyle Werman drove Campagna in to score another run to make it 3-1 when he connected on a RBI-triple down the right field line that escaped the diving grasp of the Lancers’ Ames. In UVa’s next at-bat, Tim Henry singled to shortstop to plate Werman from third base to give the Cavaliers a three-run lead at 4-1.
Virginia stretched its lead to 5-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning by adding an insurance run when Hudson drilled a solo home run to left-center field. Hudson’s home run was his third of the season and gave UVa a four-run lead cushion.
UVa’s McAnaney (5-0) remained perfect on the season on the mound and picked up the win as the he tossed 8.0 innings and allowed just one run on three hits and struck out a game-high four batters. The Cavaliers’ Robert Poutier closed out the game by pitching an inning of relief and struck out one.
Longwood starting pitcher Clay Horn (1-7) took the loss but turned in a good performance after he allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits and struck out three batters.
With the victory, Virginia’s record improves to 26-13 overall. The loss drops Longwood’s record to 14-24 on the season. The Cavaliers won both games against the Lancers this season after also posting an 8-0 shutout over Longwood earlier this year on March 8th.
Virginia will return to home action on April 22-24 when the Cavaliers host the #4 ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series at Davenport Field at the UVa Baseball Stadium. Virginia and Georgia Tech are scheduled to play on Friday, April 22nd at 7:00 PM; Saturday, April 23rd at 7:00 PM and Sunday, April 24th at 1:00 PM.
— UVa —