Strong Pitching Lifts Virginia to 7-1 Win over Monmouth

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Scott Silverstein (Sr., Olney, Md.) pitched seven innings of one-run baseball as the Virginia baseball team notched a 7-1 triumph over Monmouth Saturday afternoon at Davenport Field. Silverstein (1-0) struck out a career-high eight batters while limiting the Hawks to three hits in the longest outing of his UVa career.

Virginia (4-1-1) goes for the three-game series sweep at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Reed Gragnani (Jr., Richmond, Va.) had a three-run double for the Cavaliers, while freshman Branden Cogswell (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) added a pair of hits and scored twice.

Shane Halley (Sr., Burke, Va.) and Austin Young (So., Mechanicsville, Va.) each pitched a perfect inning and struck out two in relief of Silverstein. UVa pitchers combined to strike out a dozen batters.

Monmouth starting pitcher Dan Smith (1-1) took the loss after allowing seven runs (six earned), seven hits and three walks in five innings. He struck out one.

For the second-straight day, high winds wreaked havoc throughout the game, with the wind blowing straight out to center field.

Virginia scored three times in the third inning. Keith Werman (Sr., Vienna, Va.) led off with a single and scored when Chris Taylor (Jr., Virginia Beach, Va.) tripled off the base of the wall in left-center field. One out later, Stephen Bruno (Jr., Audubon, N.J.) grounded out to bring Taylor home. Mike Papi (Fr., Tunkhannock, Pa.) then reached second base on a throwing error by Smith and scored a single to right by Jared King (Sr., Radford, Va.).

After firing eight-straight hitless innings to begin the season, Silverstein gave up two in the fourth inning Saturday as Monmouth (3-2) scored its lone run of the game. Jamie Rosenkranz singled to start the inning and came home one out later on a double down the left-field line from Owen Stewart.

UVa got the run back in the bottom of the fourth. Cogswell led off with a single, moved to second on a Nick Howard (Fr., Olney, Md.) single and scored one out later on a Taylor groundout.

The Cavaliers built on their lead in the sixth inning. After Cogswell was hit by a pitch, Howard and Werman walked to load the bases. One out later, Gragnani double to right-center to clear the bases and stretch the UVa lead to 7-1.