Virginia Dominant in NCAA Regional Opener, 17-4
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June 3, 2016
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia baseball team opened the NCAA Charlottesville Regional with a 17-4 victory over William & Mary at Davenport Field. The regional’s top seed, UVA (38-20) set a school NCAA tournament record with 20 hits in the dominant win.
Virginia advances to the winners’ bracket and plays the winner of the Bryant-East Carolina game Saturday at 6 p.m. William & Mary (29-30) plays the Bryant-ECU loser at 1 p.m. in an elimination game.
Eight of UVA’s nine starters recorded at least two hits each. The lone starter to not post a pair of hits was Charlie Cody (So., Chesapeake, Va.), and he hit a two-run double to open the game up in the third inning. Adam Haseley (So., Windermere, Fla.) went 3-for-4 with three runs and three RBI as he fell a homer shy of the cycle, while Justin Novak (So., Tokyo, Japan) and Cameron Simmons (Fr., Royersford, Pa.) also had three hits. Ernie Clement (So., Rochester, N.Y.) homered and drove in a career-high four runs.
After grinding through a long first inning, UVA starter Alec Bettinger (Jr., Woodbridge, Va.) settled down and allowed just two earned runs, six hits and a walk over six innings. Bettinger (3-5) struck out four and earned his first career postseason win. William & Mary starter Dan Powers (8-6) worked three innings and allowed six earned runs in taking the loss.
William & Mary started fast with a first-inning run as Charlie Gould drove home Ryder Miconi with a one-out grounder.
UVA then scored in each of the next seven innings. The Cavaliers broke through with a pair of two-out RBI hits in the second inning as Jack Gerstenmaier (So., Richmond, Va.) and Simmons hit back-to-back run-scoring singles. The Cavaliers added three more runs in the third inning to push its lead to 5-1. With one out, Pavin Smith (So., Jupiter, Fla.) singled to center to plate Justin Novak. One out later, Cody ripped a double to left-center to score Smith and Haseley.
The Cavaliers added three more runs in the fourth inning, highlighted by a two-run homer from Clement, his first home run of the season. Matt Thaiss (Jr., Jackson, N.J.) later added a run-scoring single as he extended his hit streak to 17 games, longest at UVA since Dan Grovatt’s 19-game streak in 2009.
UVA tackled on a run in the fifth on a grounder by Clement to plate Cody. William & Mary answered in the sixth when Kyle Wrighte singled to bring home Hunter Smith.
Virginia scored four runs in its half of the sixth. With one out and Thaiss on second base, Daniel Pinero (Jr., Toronto, Ontario) doubled down the left field line to start the scoring. Adam Hasley (So., Windermere, Fla.) then hit a triple to right center, scoring Pinero. Gerstenmaier then hit a two-out, two-run home run to left field to cap the inning. It was his first career home long ball.
The Tribe got a two-run homer from Ryan Hall in the seventh inning, but UVA countered in its half of the inning with a two-run double from Haseley. The Cavaliers tacked on its final two runs in the eighth inning on an RBI triple from Clement and a run-scoring single from Novak.
Regional Schedule
Friday
Game 1 – Virginia 17, William & Mary 4
Game 2 – Bryant vs. East Carolina, 4 p.m.
Saturday
Game 3 – William & Mary vs. Game 2 loser, 1 p.m.
Game 4 – Virginia vs. Game 2 winner, 6 p.m.
Sunday
Game 5 – Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 1 p.m.
Game 6 – Game 5 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 6 p.m.
Monday
Game 7 – Game 6 teams (if necessary), 6 p.m.
ESPN3 will stream the broadcasts online. The radio broadcasts for all postseason games will air on WINA 1070-AM and 98.9-FM and also will stream on VirginiaSports.com. A link to live statistics also can be found on VirginiaSports.com.