Marsh's Game-Winning Hit Delivers Virginia's 12th Consecutive Win
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March 4, 2007
CHARLOTTESVILLE – Brandon Marsh’s (Alpharetta, Ga.) walk-off RBI single scored Mike Mitchell (Chesapeake, Va.) in the bottom of the ninth to give Virginia a 3-2 win over Delaware Sunday afternoon at Davenport Field. The win completed a perfect 12-0 opening homestand for the Cavaliers, who improve to 14-1 overall. Delaware fell to 0-6 on the season.
“We hadn’t had a game all year go into the bottom of the ninth, so to have a game like this before we got into conference play was good for us,” head coach Brian O’Connor said. “All game long, we couldn’t get a big hit with runners on base, but we hung in there. Our bullpen did a great job to keep us in it, and we found a way to win the game.”
Sean Doolittle (Tabernacle, N.J.) went 2-for-3 and Greg Miclat (Concord, N.C.) went 2-for-5 to lead Virginia offensively.
Michael Schwimer (Alexandria, Va.) pitched two shutout innings in relief to pick up his first win of the season. Matt Packer (Germantown, Tenn.) got the start for Virginia, and allowed two runs on four hits in 4.2 innings of work. Andrew Carraway (Marietta, Ga.), Alex Smith (Virginia Beach, Va.) and Jake Rule (Waynesboro, Va.) combined for 2.1 innings of shutout relief.
Todd Ozog took the loss for Delaware, after allowing the final two Cavalier runs.
The Cavaliers’ current 12-game win streak marks the club’s longest win streak since the school record 14-game win streak in 2004.
Delaware jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the fifth, marking the largest deficit the Cavaliers have faced all season. With two outs, Kyle Davis singled and Ryan Jablonski walked. Both players scored on Brandon Menchaca’s triple to right-center field.
Virginia pulled a run back in the bottom of the sixth inning. With one out, Beau Seabury (Mount Vernon, Wash.) was hit by a pitch. He moved to third on Patrick Wingfield’s (Winchester, Va.) single and scored on a sacrifice fly by Tyler Cannon (Pigeon Forge, Tenn.).
The Cavaliers drew even in the bottom of the seventh. Miclat led off with a double off the right field wall that narrowly missed being a home run. Marsh followed with a walk and Doolittle’s bunt single loaded the bases. Miclat then scored when David Adams (Margate, Fla.) grounded into a double play.
In the bottom of the ninth, Virginia took advantage of the first time it had been in the situation all season. Mitchell led off the inning with a hit-by-pitch. With Mitchell moving, Miclat grounded back to the pitcher, but Mitchell was safe at second on the play. Marsh then delivered the victory for the Cavaliers with a single to left field that scored Mitchell for the winning run.
Virginia will take to the road for the first time in three weeks on Tuesday with a visit to James Madison. First pitch in Harrisonburg is set for 2:30 p.m. Next weekend, the Cavaliers open ACC play with a three-game series at Wake Forest.