No. 6 Virginia Baseball Wins at No. 13 Clemson, 5-3
Story Links
April 20, 2007
CLEMSON, S.C. – The No. 6 Virginia baseball team posted a 5-3 win Friday night against Clemson in front of 5,192 spectators at Dave Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson, S.C. The Cavaliers were all over the basepaths, stealing nine bases – the most in the Brian O’Connor era. Greg Miclat (Concord, N.C.) stole a career-high four bases, while Sean Doolittle (Tabernacle, N.J.) swiped a career-best two. Mike Mitchell (Chesapeake, Va.) also stole two, while Brandon Guyer (Herndon, Va.) stole one. The Cavaliers have stolen 17 bases in the last two games.
Jacob Thompson (Herndon, Va.) continued his string of strong starts, going eight innings while giving up three earned runs, six hits and one walk with six strikeouts. He improves to 9-0 on the season. Casey Lambert (Harrisonburg, Va.) pitched the ninth inning to earn his eighth save of the season and 40th of his career, leaving him one save shy of the ACC record, set by North Carolina’s Thad Chrisman (1992-95).
Daniel Moskos (3-3) started for Clemson and lasted 3 2/3 innings, giving up four runs (one earned), six hits and three walks while striking out seven.
Guyer doubled in the seventh inning to extend his hitting streak to a career-best 26 games, the longest current streak in the ACC. Doolittle went 3-for-4 with two RBI while Miclat was 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Brandon Marsh (Alpharetta, Ga.) added a key two-run double for the Hoos.
Virginia (33-8, 12-6 ACC) scored a run in the opening inning. Miclat hit an infield single to lead off and then stole second base. He moved to third on a flyout by Marsh and scored when Doolittle singled up the middle.
Clemson (25-12, 10-6) knotted the score with a run in the second inning. Andy D’Alessio led off with a single, moved to third on a Ben Paulsen single and scored on a Doug Hogan sacrifice fly.
The Cavaliers used a two-out rally to score three times in the fourth inning and knock Moskos from the game. Mike Mitchell (Chesapeake, Va.) reached on an error and moved to second when Miclat walked. The two teamed up for a double steal and scored when Marsh hit a 3-2 pitch into the left-center field gap for a double. Doolittle then plated Marsh with his third single of the day, which forced Clemson to pull Moskos in favor of D.J. Mitchell.
Clemson cut the lead to 4-3 in the sixth inning on a two-run home run to right center by D’Alessio, but Virginia answered with its final run in the seventh as Guyer scored on a passed ball.
Lambert wiggled out of a two-on, two-out jam in the ninth inning by striking out Alex Lee to end the game.
Jeremy Farrell (Westlake, Ohio) returned to the Cavaliers’ lineup after missing the last 28 games with an injury. He went 0-for-2 with a walk while serving as the designated hitter.
Virginia and Clemson battle in game two of the series at 7 p.m. Saturday. The game will be webcast on ACC Select.