No. 5 Virginia Baseball Outlasts Boston College, 5-4 in 10
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May 17, 2007
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – David Adams (Margate, Fla.) hit a single to score Sean Doolittle (Tabernacle, N.J.) in the 10th inning and lift the No. 5 Virginia baseball team to a 5-4 win over Boston College Friday at Shea Field in Chestnut Hill, Mass. The win is Virginia’s 40th of the season, marking the fourth-consecutive year the Cavaliers have posted 40 victories which is a first in program history.
Casey Lambert (Harrisonburg, Va.) pitched the 10th inning to earn his 11th save this season and the 43rd of his career. Jake Rule (Waynesboro, Va.) earned the win with 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Ted Ratliff (6-3) absorbed the loss for Boston College after giving up two runs (one earned) and four hits in three innings of relief.
Jacob Thompson (Danville, Va.) had another strong start, going 7 1/3 innings while giving up three runs (one earned), five hits and two walks while striking out eight. He had one of his most impressive innings in the seventh, as he struck out side on 10 pitches.
In the 10th, Doolittle led off with a double and Brandon Guyer (Herndon, Va.) moved Doolittle to third with an infield single. Guyer then stole second and with the infield pulled in, Adams stroked a single to right-center to score Doolittle. Right fielder John Ayers bobbled the ball on the play, allowing Guyer to score.
Boston College (24-26-1, 12-16 ACC) made things interesting in the bottom of the 10th against Lambert. Ryan Hutchinson doubled on the first pitch of the inning and scored one out later on a single by Jared McGuire, but Lambert coaxed Eric Campbell to hit into a 1-4-3 double play to end the game.
Doolittle recorded his second-consecutive three-hit game, while Guyer also had three hits, including two doubles to give him 53 for his career, breaking to Virginia career record of 52, set by Bill Narleski from 1984-87. Adams went 2-for-4 with three RBI, while Tyler Cannon (Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) also chipped in two hits.
Hutchinson and McGuire each had two hits to lead the Eagles’ offense.
Virginia (40-13, 18-9) wasted no time in scoring, as Cannon led off the game with a single and moved up on a Brandon Marsh (Alpharetta, Ga.) groundout. Doolittle followed with a single to score Cannon. Guyer then ripped a double to center to move Doolittle to third, and Adams hit a sacrifice fly to give the Cavaliers a 2-0 advantage.
Boston College scored two unearned runs in the bottom of the first, taking advantage of an errant Thompson throw to second base to later score on a Tony Sanchez groundout and a Michael Belfiore single.
The Cavaliers took advantage of a Boston College error to score a run in the sixth inning. Guyer led off and reached second base when Ayers dropped Guyer’s fly ball to right field. Adams then hit a rocket off that caromed off the mound and into center field to plate Guyer and give UVa a 3-2 lead.
Boston College knotted the score in the eighth inning. Hutchinson led off with an infield single and one out later moved to third on a double by McGuire. Jake Rule (Waynesboro, Va.) came on in relief of Thompson and induced Campbell to fly out for a sacrifice fly before Sanchez grounded out.
Virginia and Boston College continue the three-game series at 1 p.m. Friday.