No. 1 Cavaliers Complete Sweep of Virginia Tech with 10-2 Win
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BLACKSBURG, Va. – The top-ranked Virginia baseball team completed a three-game series sweep of Virginia Tech with a 10-2 triumph Sunday afternoon at English Field in Blacksburg. In outscoring the Hokies 37-8 in the series, Virginia ran its win streak to nine games and improved to 28-2 this season, including an 11-1 mark in ACC play. UVa is off to its best 30-game start in program history.
Virginia used strong pitching and defense as well as timely hitting to roll to the win. John Barr (Sr., Ivyland, Pa.) led the Cavaliers with three hits. Kenny Swab (Sr., Kernersville, N.C.) went 2-for-3 with three runs scored, while Chris Taylor (So., Virginia Beach, Va.) posted a pair of hits and scored twice.
Virginia starting pitcher Cody Winiarski (Sr., Franksville, Wis.) worked five scoreless innings, giving up four hits and a walk while striking out two. He earned the win and improved to 4-1 this season. Virginia Tech starter Joe Parsons (4-2) pitched three innings, allowing five earned runs and six hits.
Virginia batted around in the third inning while scoring five runs, including four after two were out. With one out Taylor was hit by a pitch. He moved to second on a wild pitch and advanced to third on an infield single by Barr. John Hicks lashed a single to left to plate Taylor, and Steven Proscia (Jr., Suffern, N.Y.) reached on a fielder’s choice, with Barr out at third on the play. Swab was hit by the 2-2 pitch to load the bases. David Coleman (Sr., Richmond, Va.) fell behind 0-2 but battled back to work the count full and doubled to left on the 11th pitch of the at bat to score a pair and push the lead to 3-0. Jared King (Jr., Radford, Va.) doubled on Parsons’ next pitch, scoring two more to give UVa a 5-0 edge.
Virginia Tech (14-16, 1-11 ACC) used the long ball in the sixth inning to put a dent in the lead. With one out Ronnie Shaban singled off UVa reliever Corey Hunt (Sr., Charlottesville, Va.), and Andrew Rash followed with his ACC-leading 10th home run of the year, a shot over the trees in left field. All eight Virginia Tech runs over the weekend scored on home runs.
UVa countered with a run in the seventh inning. Taylor singled to lead off and advanced to second when third baseman Johnny Morales threw the ball away after making a great stop of Taylor’s hard grounder. Barr followed with a fly out to right, with Taylor tagging and moving to third. Shaban moved from first base to the mound, and Hicks ripped the first pitch to center for a sacrifice fly.
The Cavaliers added three runs in the eighth without the ball leaving the infield. Swab led off with a walk. Coleman then laid down a bunt, which Shaban pulled up on early and misplayed, allowing Coleman to reach on an error. One out later Reed Gragnani (So., Richmond, Va.) walked to load the bases. Keith Werman (Jr., Vienna, Va.) put down a good sac bunt to score Swab. Taylor and Barr each followed with consecutive infield singles to score Coleman and Gragnani as UVa moved to a 9-2 lead.
The Hokies put runners at first and third in the bottom of the eighth on back-to-back singles by Tony Balisteri and Michael Seaborn. Shaban then hit a looping liner which Taylor took on the short hop. He threw to the second for the force out, but the relay to first was late. Balisteri had paused before coming home, and he was thrown out at the plate on a perfect strike from the first baseman Hicks.
UVa tacked on a run in the ninth on a double from pinch hitter Tyler Biddix (Sr., Richmond, Va.), which scored Swab.
Virginia returns home Tuesday for a 6 p.m. game with Radford. It will be Throwback Night at Davenport Field, with the Cavaliers wearing throwback uniforms for the game.