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Eighth-Inning Triple Pushes UNC to 4-3 Win over UVa
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. Mike Cavasinni’s two-out, two-run triple in the eighth inning rallied No. 5 North Carolina to a 4-3 win over the No. 8 Virginia baseball team Friday night at Boshamer Stadium. Two errors and six walks came back to haunt the Cavaliers in a game which was played through a light rain for much of the evening.
The second game of the series has been moved up to 1 p.m. Saturday because of the threat of showers and thunderstorms Saturday afternoon and evening.
The first two hitters in UVa’s lineup, Jarrett Parker (So., Stafford, Va.) and Phil Gosselin (So., West Chester, Pa.), combined to do most of the damage Friday with five of Virginia’s nine hits. Gosselin went 3-for-4 with a solo home run and two RBI, while Parker was 2-for-3 with a solo homer and two runs scored. Steven Proscia (Fr., Suffern, N.Y.) added two hits for Virginia.
Starting pitchers Danny Hultzen (Fr., Bethesda, Md.) and Alex White locked up in a pitchers’ duel for most of the night. Hultzen went seven innings, allowing two runs (one earned), six hits and five walks while striking out eight. The no decision was the first of Hultzen’s college career after five straight wins to start the season. White was equally impressive, going 7.1 innings and giving up three earned runs, seven hits and two walks while fanning nine.
Tyler Wilson (So., Midlothian, Va.) took the loss for Virginia after pitching the eighth inning. Wilson (4-2) gave up two earned runs, two hits and a walk while striking out one. Brian Moran (2-1) pitched two-thirds of an inning to earn the win, while Colin Bates nabbed his fourth save.
UNC (19-5, 6-3 ACC) scored the deciding runs in the eighth inning. Trailing 3-2, Garrett Gore blooped a double into right field to lead off and Mark Fleury followed with a walk. Wilson then rebounded to record two outs before Cavasinni lifted a double to deep left field to score both baserunners.
Virginia (21-3, 5-3) wasted no time in scoring first, as Parker hit White’s first offering of the game into the netting beyond the left-field wall for his team-leading fifth home run. Three of his home runs this season have come to lead off games.
North Carolina took advantage of a Virginia error to knot the score in the second. With two out and runners on first and second, Greg Holt hit a grounder to Tyler Cannon (Jr., Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) at shortstop, who threw the ball past second on the attempted force out, allowing Fleury to score from third and tie the score.
The Tar Heels pushed across another run in the third inning. Hultzen walked two of the first three batters. Kyle Seager then hit into a fielder’s choice to put runners on first and third, and Gore followed with a single to left to score Ben Bunting.
Virginia squandered a big opportunity to score in the fourth, putting runners at first and third with none out. White rebounded to strike out Cannon, pick off Proscia at first and get John Hicks (Fr., Sandy Hook, Va.) to ground out to squelch the threat.
Gosselin crushed a White pitch to right field to lead off the sixth inning for his third home run of the year, tying the score at two.
The Cavaliers forged ahead in the eighth, with Parker and Gosselin combining to do the damage. With one out, Parker coaxed a walk. Gosselin then launched a blast to center field which caromed off the top of the wall for a double to score Parker.
WINA 1070-AM will have the radio broadcast of the Saturday game in the Charlottesville area joined in-progress following the Virginia-Maryland men’s lacrosse game. The broadcast also will be available online with V Pass and will also be joined in-progress. The game also will be webcast by ACC Select.