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No. 14 Baseball Falls Short vs. Towson, 7-6
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. Despite a two-run ninth-inning rally, the Virginia baseball team dropped a 7-6 decision to Towson Wednesday night at Davenport Field. Greg Miclat (Jr., Concord, N.C.) went 4-for-5 with two stolen bases, while David Adams (Jr., Margate, Fla.) had three hits for the Cavaliers.
Jake Rule (Sr., Waynesboro, Va.) took the loss for the Cavaliers and dropped to 1-2 after starting and going 3.1 innings and allowing five runs, seven hits and a walk with four strikeouts. Wes Shifflett (3-1) earned the win for Towson with 2.1 scoreless innings of relief, while Josh Squatrito pitched two innings to notch his first save.
Virginia (24-6) scored twice in the first inning on run-scoring singles from Adams and Patrick Wingfield (Sr., Winchester, Va.), but for the second straight day the Tigers put up a six-run inning to come back and take the lead.
Wednesday, the fourth inning served as the big frame. Towson (12-15) got a leadoff home run from Brian Conley and after an out, seven straight Tigers reached base before an inning-ending double play. Chris Wychock and Kevin Collins hit back-to-back RBI singles and Gary Helmick followed with a bases-loaded walk to force home a run. Steve Yarsinski hit a two-run single to give Towson a 6-2 lead.
The Tigers extended their advantage to five in the fifth inning when Matt Collins scored on a Robert Morey (Fr., Virginia Beach, Va.) balk.
Virginia started its comeback with two runs in the fifth inning on a Tyler Cannon (So., Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) groundout and when Miclat scored on a wild pitch.
In the ninth inning, the first two Cavaliers reached before Miclat hit a bunt single to score Tyler Biddix (Fr., Richmond, Va.) and Cannon hit a sacrifice fly to plate Jarrett Parker (Fr., Stafford, Va.). Squatrito then was able to strand Miclat at second base to end the game.
Virginia, which finished 10-2 on its 12-game homestand, hits the road this weekend, traveling to No. 2 Florida State for a three-game ACC series. The first game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday. The first two games will be webcast on ACC Select.