No. 18 Virginia Baseball Pounds Navy, 17-1
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. The No. 18 Virginia baseball team used a six-run fourth inning and a five-run fifth inning to blow out Navy, 17-1, Wednesday at Davenport Field. UVa (13-0), with 23 hits, piled up 20 or more hits for the fourth time in the last five games. In those five games, Virginia has scored an eye-popping 81 runs while hitting .473 as a team.
John Barr (So., Ivyland, Pa.) led Virginia with three hits and three runs scored. Nine Cavaliers had a pair of hits each, highlighted by Phil Gosselin’s (So., West Chester, Pa.) 2-for-3, three-run, four-RBI effort which included a grand slam. Tyler Cannon (Jr., Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) also had two hits and drove in four.
Virginia’s 13-game winning streak is the longest active streak in the nation, pending Georgia’s result tonight. The Cavaliers and 12-0 Bulldogs join San Jose State (9-0) as the only remaining undefeated teams in the country.
UVa pitchers also were strong, allowing just four singles and four walks. Jeff Lorick (Jr., Duluth, Ga.) made the start on the mound for Virginia and went six strong innings, giving up one earned run, three hits and two walks while striking out four as he improved to 2-0 this year. Robert Poutier (Sr., Yorktown, Va.) tossed two scoreless innings before Justin Thompson (Fr., Danville, Va.) blanked the Midshipmen in the ninth in his first college appearance. Navy starting pitcher Jonathan Berkowitz (0-2) surrendered six earned runs, six hits and four walks in 3.1 innings to take the loss.
After two scoreless innings, Virginia broke loose with a pair of third-inning runs. Grovatt started the scoring with an RBI groundout, and Proscia followed with an opposite-field single to plate Gosselin.
The Cavaliers sent 10 batters to the plate while scoring six runs in the fourth inning. With one out and the bases loaded, Gosselin scorched a Berkowitz offering into the top row of bleachers in left field for his second home run of the year and his first career grand slam. One out later, Grovatt ripped a solo blast to right-center for his second long ball of the year. Proscia followed with a double and scored on a Cannon single to give UVa an 8-0 lead.
Virginia batted around and added five runs in the fifth inning. With one out, Jarrett Parker (So., Stafford, Va.) hit a single to score two runs. Later in the inning, Tyler Cannon (Jr., Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) ripped a bases-clearing double to left-center to give the Cavaliers a 13-0 lead.
Navy (4-5-1) posted its lone run in the sixth inning on a groundout by Kendall Bolt, but UVa countered with a run in the seventh on Keith Werman (Fr., Vienna, Va.) RBI single.
Virginia scored its final three runs in the eighth inning, getting RBI singles from John Bivens (Jr., Disputanta, Va.) and Werman and a run-scoring fielder’s choice from Corey Hunt (R-So., Charlottesville, Va.).
UVa next plays host to VMI at 4 p.m. Wednesday in a game which was rescheduled from last Tuesday.
Notes on Saturday Baseball/Lacrosse Games
With both the top-ranked UVa men’s lacrosse team facing Towson and the No. 18 baseball team hosting No. 14 Florida State this Saturday at 1 p.m. Fans are encouraged to arrive early and to purchase their tickets in advance. Tickets are available online at VirginiaSports.com or may be ordered by calling 1-800-542-UVA1. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the athletics ticket office in Bryant Hall, Monday Friday from 9 a.m.5 p.m.
Tickets may be purchased on Saturday at the entrance to Klckner Stadium and Davenport Field. The events are ticketed separately. Reserved tickets for each game are $9 and general admission tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for youth, seniors, and UVa faculty and staff. The ticket booths will open at 11 a.m.
Parking is available for both games in the University Hall and John Paul Jones Arena parking lots.