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No. 1 Cavaliers Score 12-6 Win Over William and Mary
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WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Trailing 5-1 in the sixth inning, the No. 1 Virginia baseball team exploded for 11 runs over its final four at bats in rolling a 12-6 victory over William and Mary Wednesday at a sold-out Plumeri Park in Williamsburg, Va. Steven Proscia (So., Suffern, N.Y.) and Jarrett Parker (Jr., Stafford, Va.) each homered and drove in four runs for the Cavaliers.
The Tribe jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the fifth inning on a three-run double by Tadd Bower, but the first four Cavaliers in the sixth inning recorded hits, capped by a long home run by Parker to tie the game. After William and Mary tied the game in its half of the sixth, Proscia led off the seventh with a home run and Virginia (10-2) led the rest of the way.
Proscia also doubled twice in addition to his home run. He finished 3-for-5 with two runs scored and four RBI. Tyler Cannon (Sr., Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) scored three times and went 2-for-3 for UVa. Bower went 2-for-4 with four RBI for William and Mary (6-5).
Tyler Wilson (Jr., Midlothian, Va.) shut William and Mary down for 2.1 innings after the Tribe tied the score at six in the bottom of the sixth. He improved 2-0 with the win after blanking the Tribe during his stint on the mound. Kevin Arico (Jr., Flemington, N.J.) tossed a perfect ninth to close the game.
Branden Kline (Fr., Frederick, Md.) made his first college start for the Cavaliers and worked four-plus innings, allowing three earned runs, four hits and three walks while striking out three.
William and Mary reliever Jay McCarthy (1-1) took the loss after allowing two earned runs, three hits and a walk over two innings. Tribe starting pitcher Brett Koehler tossed five strong innings, allowing one unearned run, three hits and a walk while striking out six.
Virginia jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the first inning. With one out, Cannon doubled to deep left-center. He advanced on a passed ball and scored when Dan Grovatt (Jr., Tabernacle, N.J.) flew out to the warning track in right-center field.
William and Mary bounced back with two runs in its first trip to the plate. Ryan Brown drew a leadoff walk and moved to third on a double down the left-field line by Derrick Osteen. One out later, Chris Forsten grounded out to score a run, and Bower followed with a single up the middle to give the Tribe a 2-1 lead.
The Tribe got a timely hit in the fifth inning to up its lead to 5-1. Derek Lowe led off with a single against Kline, who then was replaced by Neal Davis (Sr., Baltimore, Md.). After a sacrifice bunt, Lowe stole third as Osteen walked. Arcure grounded to third to move Osteen to third, and Forsten walked on a 3-2 pitch to load the bases. Bower worked the count full before ripping a double up the left-center field gap to clear the bases and push the Tribe advantage to 5-1.
William and Mary brought its weekend ace, Logan Billbrough, on to start the sixth, but Virginia quickly responded with four consecutive hits to tie the game. Cannon led off with a single to center. Grovatt then singled to right, and Proscia ripped a double to right-center to score Cannon as Grovatt moved to third. Parker then went opposite field for his first home run of 2010, a three-run shot the clanged off the top of the scoreboard.
William and Mary inserted Jay McCarthy on the mound and he promptly hit John Hicks (So., Sandy Hook, Va.) with a pitch. Hicks stole second and moved to third on a Danny Hultzen (So., Bethesda, Md.) groundout to first. Reed Gragnani (Fr., Richmond, Va.) then singled through the drawn-in infield and into right field to score Hicks and give UVa the 6-5 lead.
The Tribe knotted the score in the bottom of the sixth on a solo home run to left-center field by Ryan Williams.
UVa quickly got the lead back in the seventh when Proscia cranked a leadoff home run to left field. It was his third long ball of the season.
Virginia tacked on four insurance runs in the eighth inning. Gragnani led off with a single off reliever R.J. Archer, the Tribe’s former starting quarterback. Corey Hunt (R-Jr., Charlottesville, Va.) pinch-ran for Gragnani and advanced when Keith Werman (so., Vienna, Va.) laid down a sacrifice bunt and reached on an Archer error. One out later, Cannon walked to load the bases. Grovatt then walked against new pitcher John Farrell to force in a run. Proscia ripped a double just inside third base and down the line to score two more, and Parker added a sacrifice fly to deep left to increase the UVa lead to 11-6.
The Cavaliers added one final run in the ninth when pinch hitter John Barr (Jr., Ivyland, Pa.) led off with a single, moved to second on a Werman groundout and then scored after a pair of Matt Wainman wild pitches.
The Cavaliers travel to Florida State this weekend for an ACC-opening three-game series. FSU is the ACC’s preseason favorite in the Atlantic Division, while UVa is the preseason favorite in the Coastal Division. Both teams are ranked among the top five nationally in the national polls.