No. 7 Baseball Sweeps Doubleheader Against No. 5 Florida State
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April 20, 2013
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.– The seventh-ranked Virginia baseball team swept a doubleheader against fifth-ranked Florida State Saturday at Davenport Field, running away with a 9-2 victory in game one before one-hitting the Seminoles, 2-0, in the nightcap. Virginia (34-6, 15-5 ACC) swept a doubleheader for the first time in program history against Florida State (31-8, 13-7) while clinching its sixth ACC series win in seven tries this year.
Virginia’s pitching stole the spotlight Saturday, giving up just seven hits in the two wins. The Cavaliers limited Florida State to one hit in the second game and fired the first one-hitter against the Seminoles since Miami did so on May 1, 1998. UVa received tremendous starts from Brandon Waddell (Fr., Houston, Texas) and Scott Silverstein(R-Sr., Olney, Md.) to key the victories.
Derek Fisher(So., Rexmont, Pa.) highlighted the Cavaliers’ doubleheader offense, going 3-for-6 with a home run in the doubleheader. Seven of the Cavaliers’ 11 runs in the two games came with two outs.
UVa drew 8,910 fans for the doubleheader, including a sellout crowd of 4,980 in the second game. The Sunday game also is sold out. Virginia students still will be admitted with valid ID. A live video broadcast will be available on VirginiaSports.com through a Cavaliers Live subscription. WINA 1070-AM will have the live radio broadcast in the Charlottesville area.
Game 2 Recap
Silverstein and FSU starter Brandon Leibrandt locked up in a terrific pitchers’ duel in the second game, which featured just five hits between the two teams.
Silverstein (7-0) allowed one hit and three walks over seven scoreless innings, as he matched his career-long effort. He struck out six. Leibrandt (5-4) was the hard-luck loser after going the distance, allowing just two unearned runs, four hits and three walks while striking out seven in eight innings.
Kyle Crockett(Jr., Poquoson, Va.) recorded six straight outs to earn his eighth save for the Cavaliers.
Seth Miller hit a two-out double in the third inning for the Seminoles’ lone hit. He was the only FSU baserunner to advance past first base.
The only scoring came in the fifth inning, and all the damage came after two were out. Reed Gragnani (Sr., Richmond, Va.) coaxed a walk, and a hustling Nate Irving (So., Yonkers, N.Y.) reached on a throwing error by second baseman John Sansone. On a 1-2 pitch, Branden Cogswell(So., Ballston Lake, N.Y.) ripped a double down the right-field line, scoring both runners to give Virginia all the runs it would need.
Outside of the fifth inning, Virginia advanced just one runner to second base against Leibrandt – Kenny Towns(So., Burke, Va.) in the seventh inning.
Game 1 Recap
Virginia scored in five straight innings to break out to a big lead and cruise to a 9-2 win over Florida State in the opening game of the doubleheader. The Cavaliers hit three two-run home runs to break things open. Eight of the Cavaliers’ starters had hits, while seven scored and six drove in runs.
Waddell worked six innings of one-run baseball as UVa pitchers limited FSU to six hits. He allowed four hits and three hits while striking out three. Whit Mayberry (R-Jr., Alexandria, Va.) pitched two innings, and David Rosenberger(Fr., Bethlehem, Pa.) tossed a perfect ninth inning to wrap up the game.
UVa roughed up FSU starter Luke Weaver (4-1), who gave up seven earned runs, six hits and three walks in taking the loss. He allowed just eight runs all season entering the game.
Fisher, Brandon Downes (So., South Plainfield, N.J.) and Nick Howard(So., Olney, Md.) all homered as the Cavaliers hit a season-high three long balls.
Virginia scored in each of the second through sixth innings. UVa jumped ahead in the second when Howard launched his first career home run, a blast which landed in the left-field bleachers and also scored Mike Papi(So., Tunkhannock, Pa.).
After FSU scored in the third inning on a Stephen McGee sacrifice fly, Virginia responded with a run in its half of the third on a Joe McCarthy(Fr., Scranton, Pa.) single to plate Cogswell. The Cavaliers added a pair of runs in the fourth inning when Fisher hit an opposite-field, two-run homer over the left-center field wall. It was Fisher’s fifth home run of the season.
Virginia again used the long ball to score twice in the fifth when Downes clubbed a long home run high into the trees in left-center field for his team-high sixth homer of the year, giving UVa a 7-1 lead. Cogswell, who singled to start the inning, scored on the play.
The Cavaliers scored a run in the sixth inning while taking advantage of a one-out error on an Irving grounder. He scored with two outs on a single by Jared King (Sr., Radford, Va.). UVa tacked on a run in the eighth on a Papi sacrifice fly to score King.