No. 17 Baseball Sweeps Doubleheader Against Maryland

March 10, 2013

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 17th-ranked Virginia baseball team improved to 14-0 on the season with a doubleheader sweep against Maryland Saturday in the ACC opener at Davenport Field. A walk-off double from Derek Fisher(So., Rexmont, Pa.) lifted the Cavaliers to a 7-6 win in the opener before three pitchers combined for a 5-0 UVa shutout in the nightcap.

Maryland (9-5, 0-2) had its nine-game win streak snapped in the opener.

Virginia used timely hitting in both games, with 10 of its 12 runs coming with two outs. The Cavaliers’ pitching staff also came through in the clutch, stranding 23 Maryland baserunners in the twinbill, while Maryland was 5-for-28 with runners in scoring position.

Game 2 – Virginia 5, Maryland 0
Virginia starting pitcher Scott Silverstein (R-Sr., Olney, Md.) fired six shutout innings and Jared King(R-Sr., Radford, Va.) tripled and drove in three runs as UVa completed the doubleheader sweep.

Silverstein (3-0) gave up four hits and three walks while striking out three in earning the win. Whit Mayberry (Jr., Alexandria, Va.) tossed two scoreless innings before freshman Josh Sborz(McLean, Va.) pitched the ninth inning to finish off UVa’s fifth shutout in 14 games this year.

Brady Kilpatrick (2-2) took the loss for Maryland after surrendering four earned runs, three hits and seven walks in 6 2/3 innings.

Silverstein escaped trouble in each of the first three innings, stranding two runners each time, before settling in and finding a groove. The pitchers traded zeroes until Virginia broke through for a pair of two-out runs in the fifth inning when King launched a triple to the base of the wall in left-center, scoring Nate Irving (So., Yonkers, N.Y.) and Branden Cogswell(So., Ballston Lake, N.Y.).

UVa doubled its lead in the seventh, taking advantage of a pair of walks. King hit a sacrifice fly to score Reed Gragnani (Sr., Richmond, Va.), who walked to lead off the inning, and Brandon Downes(So., South Plainfield, N.J.) singled with two outs to score Cogswell.

The Cavaliers added a run in the eighth on an Irving safety squeeze bunt to plate Nick Howard(So., Olney, Md.).

Game 1 – Virginia 7, Maryland 6
Fisher doubled home Joe McCarthy(Fr., Scranton, Pa.) with two outs in the ninth inning to send Virginia to a 7-6 win in the first game. The double capped a 4-for-4 game for Fisher; he reached base in all five of his plate appearances.

McCarthy scored three times in the win, while King and Gragnani each had a pair of singles.

Kyle Crockett (Jr., Poquoson, Va.) earned the win and moved to 1-0 after tossing 1 1/3 shutout innings out of the bullpen. Brandon Waddell(Fr., Houston, Texas) started and went six innings, allowing five runs (three earned), eight hits and a walk with six punchouts.

Jake Stinnett (1-1) took the loss after giving up the winning run. Starter Jimmy Reed worked 4 2/3 innings, allowing six runs (three earned), nine hits and two walks while striking out five. Reliever Brandon Casas kept the Terrapins in the game with 3 1/3 shutout innings.

Maryland struck first with a run in the opening inning on a two-out LaMonte Wade single to right to score Charlie White.

UVa tied the game in the second inning when Gragnani singled home Fisher, but Maryland took the lead back in the third when Wade squeezed Jordan Hagel home.

Virginia moved ahead with two runs in its half of the third. King and McCarthy hit back-to-back one-out singles and both scored with two outs when Kenny Towns(So., Burke, Va.) doubled to left. Maryland again tied it in the fourth with an unearned run when Hagel hit a two-out single to score Jack Cleary.

The Cavaliers put up three runs in the fifth, with the damage coming on a two-run Fisher double to left followed by an RBI single from Howard.

Maryland chipped away with two runs in the seventh inning on a Kevin Martir RBI groundout and a two-out Cleary run-scoring single. The Terps tied the game in the eighth when Kyle Convissar blooped a single to right to bring White home.

UVa then won the game in the bottom of the ninth inning. McCarthy walked with one out and stole second as Downes struck out. Towns was hit by a pitch and Fisher lined the first pitch he saw from Stinnett into the right-field corner for the game winner.

Virginia goes for the series sweep at 12:30 p.m. Sunday.