Virginia Wins Sixth Consecutive Game With 9-4 Victory Over William & Mary
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April 27, 2005
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia Cavaliers (30-13) defeated the William & Mary Tribe (21-20) by the score of 9-4 in a non-conference game at Davenport Field at the UVa Baseball Stadium. The Cavaliers broke a 3-3 tie ballgame in the bottom of the sixth inning by scoring four runs in the side and never looked back as Virginia recorded its 30th win of the season. UVa was led offensively by Matt Street who finished 2-for-4 at the plate with four RBI and scored two runs, and the Cavaliers received a solid pitching performance from the trio of starter Pat McAnaney, reliever Scott Morgenthaler and closer Casey Lambert. McAnaney posted his sixth win of the season to remain perfect on the year, while Lambert posted his 11th save of the season and the 19th save of his career – which are both new Virginia school records.
“That was a great win for our team coming off a very emotional weekend against Georgia Tech and rolling into a very pivotal weekend at Florida State,” said UVa head baseball coach Brian O’Connor. “William & Mary is a very good offensive ball club. I felt Pat McAnaney pitched really well, and we swung the bats really well tonight. It was great to see that we spread our RBI’s throughout five guys in our lineup, and everybody contributed to the win.”
Virginia took the early lead by scoring two runs in the bottom of the first inning to take a 2-0 advantage. Tim Henry started the inning off by reaching base on an error before he advanced to third on Ryan Zimmerman’s single to put runners on the corners with one out. The next batter, Sean Doolittle, drilled a two-run double off the right-center field wall to score both Henry and Zimmerman on the play to give UVa a 2-0 lead.
But William & Mary answered back in the top of the second inning with two runs of its own to even the score at 2-2. The first batter of the inning, Mike DeCarlo, hit a solo home run (his 13th of the season) to right-center field to make the score 2-1. In the Tribe’s’ next at-bat, Chris Rahl doubled to right-center field before he scored a run three batters later on an RBI-single by Greg Sexton to center field to even the score at two apiece.
The Cavaliers regained the lead in the bottom of the second inning by plating a run to make it 3-2. With one out, UVa’s Mike Campagna doubled down the right field line before scoring a run three batters later on a RBI-single to center field by Street, giving Virginia a one-run lead.
The scored remained 3-2 in favor of UVa until the Tribe tied the game again, this time at 3-3, by scoring a run in the top of the sixth inning. W&M’s Will Rhymes began the inning with an infield single and scored on an RBI groundout by Kyle Padgett three batters later to knot the score at 3-3.
But Virginia took the lead for good and plated four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to turn a 3-3 tie into a 7-4 advantage. After a walk by Kyle Werman and a single by Henry to put runners on the corners with one out, Street hit a towering three-run home run to left-center field to make the score 6-3. Street’s home run was his third of the season. One batter later, Zimmerman drew a walk to reach base and scored two batters later on a RBI-single to right field by Brandon Guyer to give the Cavaliers a 7-3 lead.
William & Mary made one last charge and cut the lead to 7-4 in the top of the seventh inning when Greg Saxton hit a solo home run to left field. But that would be as close as the Tribe would get as the Cavalier added two more insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to take a 9-4 lead. Street walked and scored on a RBI-double to left field by Zimmerman before Zimmerman scored a run himself two batters later on a RBI-double to left-center by Josh Darby to wrap up the scoring.
Virginia’s McAnaney (6-0) picked up the win to remain perfect on the year on the mound. He went 6.0 innings and allowed four runs on 10 hits and struck out three batters. After Morgenthaler pitched an inning of scoreless and hitless relief, Lambert entered the game and went 2.0 scoreless innings and allowed just one run while striking out a game-high four batters to pick up the monumental save.
William & Mary starting pitcher Forrest Cory pitched 3.0 innings and allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits and one strikeout in a no decision. The Tribe’s Pete Vernon (4-2) took the loss after going 0.2 of an inning and allowed three runs on two hits.
With the win, Virginia’s record improves 30-13 overall. The loss drops William & Mary’s record to 21-20 on the season. The Cavaliers have now won six consecutive games.
UVa will return to action on April 29 – May 1 when Virginia travels to Tallahassee, Fla. to face the #24 ranked Florida State Seminoles in a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference at FSU’s Dick Howser Stadium.
— UVa —