No. 25 Cavaliers Sweep DH at Duke, Take Game 2, 10-3

DURHAM, N.C. – The No. 25 Virginia baseball team completed a doubleheader sweep of Duke with a 10-3 victory over the Blue Devils in the second game Saturday afternoon at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The Cavaliers’ offense came alive and outscored Duke 22-6 in the doubleheader as Virginia (26-14-1, 11-10 ACC) clinched its fourth ACC series win of the season.

Stephen Bruno (Jr., Audubon, N.J.) continued his torrid hitting by going 2-for-3 with a home run and three runs scored. Bruno went 7-for-9 with six runs scored in the doubleheader as he extended his hitting streak to 13 games. Colin Harrington (Jr., Johnstown, Pa.) tied a career high with four RBI, while all of Virginia’s starters recorded at least one hit in the second game.

Artie Lewicki (So., Wyckoff, N.J.) gave Virginia a strong start by pitching a career-high 7.0 innings and working into the eighth. Lewicki (2-2) gave up three runs (two earned), six hits and one walk while striking out one in earning the win. Kyle Crockett (So., Poquoson, Va.) pitched two scoreless innings to finish off the UVa victory.

Duke starting pitcher Robert Huber (4-4) took the loss after allowing nine earned runs, seven hits and six walks in 5.1 innings. He did not record a strikeout. Duke pitchers did themselves no favors in walking nine batters and hitting two more. Five of those baserunners came around to score.

Bruno got the Cavaliers on the board in the first inning when he hit a solo home run over the Blue Monster in left field. It was his fourth homer of the season. Duke (15-26, 7-14) responded with a run in the second inning, as Mike Rosenfeld led off with a double, advanced on a sacrifice and scored on a passed ball.

UVa manufactured a run in the fourth as Jared King (Sr., Radford, Va.) hit a leadoff double, moved to second on a fly ball and scored on a Harrington sacrifice fly. The Blue Devils again came right back as Jordan Betts pulled a leadoff double to left, moved up on a wild pitch and scored on a Mark Lumpa groundout.

Much like the first game of the day, Virginia scored eight runs over the course of the fifth and sixth innings to break the game open (UVa scored nine runs in the fifth and sixth in game one). Huber created problems for himself in the fifth, and UVa scored three times without recording a hit. Branden Cogswell (Fr., Ballston Lake, N.Y.) drew a leadoff walk. Bruno and Derek Fisher (Fr., Rexmont, Pa.) were hit by consecutive pitches to quickly load the bases. King drew a walk to force in a run. Brandon Downes (Fr., South Plainfield, N.J.) grounded out to score Bruno, and Harrington followed with his second sac fly in as many innings to stretch the lead to 5-2.

Virginia then scored five times in the sixth to knock Huber from the game and increase its lead to 10-2. After the leadoff batter was retired, Virginia put the next eight batters on base. Taylor and Cogswell hit consecutive singles, and Huber uncorked two wild pitches to score Taylor and move Cogswell to third. Fisher ripped a single to plate Cogswell and bring an end to Huber’s day. Reliever Nick Piscotty walked the first two batters, King and Downes, to force in a run, then gave up a two-run single to Harrington.

Duke scored a run in the eighth on pinch hitter David Perkins’ single to bring Angelo La Bruna home.