No. 4 Virginia Baseball Thumps Radford, 12-2

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The fourth-ranked Virginia baseball team was solid in all phases of the game in a 12-2 win over Radford Wednesday night at Davenport Field. Virginia racked up 16 hits in the victory, while the pitching staff limited Radford to just four hits and seven baserunners.

Whit Mayberry (Fr., Alexandria, Va.) made his first start at Virginia and earned his first career win. Mayberry (1-1) pitched five strong innings, allowing one earned run, three hits and one walk while striking out a pair. UVa’s bullpen – Chad O’Connor (R-Fr., Chesapeake, Va.), Tyler Wilson (Jr., Midlothian, Va.), Branden Kline (Fr., Frederick, Md.) and Neal Davis (Sr., Baltimore, Md.) – held the Highlanders to one hit and three baserunners over the final four innings.

Radford starting pitcher Cassidy McDaniel (0-1) took the loss after allowing six earned runs, nine hits and three walks. Virginia batters did not strike out against any of the five Radford pitchers.

Danny Hultzen (So., Bethesda, Md.) and Keith Werman (So., Vienna, Va.) each had three hits for Virginia (25-6). Werman scored three times, while Hultzen and Phil Gosselin (Jr., West Chester, Pa.) each drove in three runs.

Virginia jumped on Cassidy in the first inning for a pair of runs. Gosselin walked to lead off and stole second on the next pitch – the first of seven UVa stolen bases for the night. Hultzen then cranked a double to center to score Gosselin. One out later Steven Proscia (So., Suffern, N.Y.) singled to left to plate Hultzen.

After two scoreless innings the Cavaliers broke loose for four runs in the fourth inning. With John Hicks (So., Sandy Hook, Va.) at third and Jarrett Parker (Jr., Stafford, Va.) at second with one out, Werman slapped a single to left to plate Hicks. Gosselin followed with a triple off the right-center field wall to score the two runners. Hultzen then doubled to left center to bring Gosselin home and give UVa a 6-0 advantage.

Radford (13-13) got on the scoreboard in the fifth inning on a one-out Ryan Burgess RBI single. The Highlanders added a run in the sixth inning when Matt Hillsinger homered to right center off O’Connor.

Virginia answered with a run in its half of the sixth on a Hultzen single to score Werman. UVa tacked on two runs in the seventh inning on RBI singles by Werman and Gosselin.

In the eighth UVa added three runs. Two of the runs came on a triple down the right-field line by Dan Grovatt (Jr., Tabernacle, N.J.). Grovatt came around to score when the relay throw to third on the triple was wild and went into left field.

Virginia returns to ACC play this weekend as it plays host to No. 2 Georgia Tech in a three-game series at Davenport Field. Game one is at 7 p.m. Friday. The second game is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday, while the finale is at noon Sunday. Large crowds are anticipated for all three games and fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance.