No. 18 Virginia Ups Streak to 15 with 15-2 Win over No. 14 FSU
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. The No. 18 Virginia baseball team recorded its school-record 15th-consecutive win and remained undefeated with a 15-2 victory over No. 14 Florida State Friday night at Davenport Field. Freshman Danny Hultzen (Bethesda, Md.) stole the show with a career-high 13 strikeouts in seven innings as he improved to 4-0 this year.
Virginia (15-0, 4-0 ACC) continued its best start in school history while posting its largest margin of victory ever over Florida State. The previous high was 11 in 1996 and 2004. The Cavaliers now have scored 62 runs in their four ACC contests.
UVa’s 15-game winning streak is the longest active streak in the nation. Virginia and Georgia are the lone remaining undefeated teams this year in Division I.
Hultzen’s 13 strikeouts were the most for a Virginia pitcher since Sean Doolittle fanned 13 on April 28, 2006, at Maryland. He allowed just an earned run, four hits and two walks. He retired the first eight batters of the game, with the final seven of those coming via strikeouts. He did not allow a runner past first base until giving up a solo home run to Stuart Tapley in the seventh inning.
FSU starter Sean Gilmartin (3-1) allowed seven runs (four earned), six hits and three walks in four innings to take the loss. The Seminoles’ defense committed five errors, leading to seven unearned runs.
At the plate, Dan Grovatt (So., Tabernacle, N.J.) led the a 14-hit Cavalier attack with a 2-for-5 night while scoring three times and driving in three. He hit a two-run homer as part of his big night. Steven Proscia (Fr., Suffern, N.Y.) had three singles and scored three times, while John Hicks (Fr., Sandy Hook, Va.) hit a two-run blast in a 2-for-3 night. He also scored three times and drove in two.
The Cavaliers scored three times in the second inning, taking full advantage of a leadoff error by second baseman Tommy Oravetz. A wild pitch moved Grovatt to second and one out later, Hicks walked. Grovatt and Hicks combined for a double steal, and Grovatt scored on a bloop single by Jared King (Fr., Radford, Va.). Franco Valdes (Jr., Miami, Fla.) followed with an RBI groundout to score Hicks, and John Barr (So., Ivyland, Pa.) came up with a two-out single to right-center to plate King and give UVa a 3-0 lead.
In the fourth inning, Parker hit a two-out single up the middle to score two runs and give the Cavaliers a 5-0 advantage.
Virginia padded its lead with three in the fifth inning. Phil Gosselin (So., West Chester, Pa.) led off with a walk and scored when Grovatt launched a two-run home run to right field. It was his third home run this year and it spelled the end of the night for Gilmartin. Proscia then greeted reliever Hunter Scantling with a single and later scored on a King fielder’s choice.
UVa added a five-spot in the sixth inning, benefiting from three FSU errors while batting around. Barr reached on an error to lead off and moved to third on a Parker double. Tyler Cannon (Jr., Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) then was hit by a pitch, and Gosselin followed with a sacrifice fly. Grovatt then hit an RBI single which knocked Scantling from the game. Reliever Ben Francis had no more luck, allowing a sacrifice fly to Proscia before Hicks ripped a two-run homer to left field, giving the Wahoos a 13-0 lead.
FSU (9-6, 1-3) scored its lone run in the seventh inning on a Stuart Tapley solo home run. Virginia added its final two runs in the eighth inning on a two-run single by Valdes.
The teams play game two of the series at 1 p.m. Saturday. Parking will be available in the University Hall lots.