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No. 16 Virginia Powers Past Duke, 13-6
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March 25, 2017
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The No. 16 Virginia baseball team bounced back from its Friday loss with a 13-6 victory over Duke Saturday afternoon at Davenport Field. The Cavaliers (18-6, 3-5 ACC) evened the series at a game apiece, with the rubber game slated for 1 p.m. Sunday.
Virginia racked up a season-high 20 hits, its most in an ACC game since a 22-hit day against Duke on May 11, 2013. Charlie Cody (Jr., Chesapeake, Va.) homered twice as part of a 3-for-4, four-RBI day. Virginia had balance throughout the lineup, as eight of the nine UVA starters recorded at least two hits, while every starter had a hit. Eight of the nine Cavalier starters knocked in at least one run.
“That was a great response by our ballclub,” Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor said. “To Duke’s credit, yesterday they swung the bats really well against us and took advantage. I was excited to get to the ballpark today and see how our club would respond to a defeat like that. I was really proud of our guys that we came out ready to play and there was a lot of energy. We swung the bats really well, and I thought Alec Bettinger was terrific. After he gave up the three-run home run, he buckled down and was terrific the rest of the game. It was a huge bounce-back game and hopefully we can respond again tomorrow.”
Pavin Smith (Jr., Jupiter, Fla.) homered and finished with three hits for UVA, while Justin Novak (Jr., Tokyo, Japan) also recorded three hits. The Cavaliers did not strike out in the game.
A day after giving up 26 hits, UVA limited Duke to six Saturday. Reliever Alec Bettinger (Sr., Woodbridge, Va.) worked the final 5 1/3 innings, giving up a run and three hits while striking out five. After giving up a home run in the fourth inning that pulled Duke to within two runs, Bettinger (3-0) slammed the door and held the Blue Devils scoreless over the final five frames to earn the win. Starter Evan Sperling (So., Poquoson, Va.) worked 3 2/3 innings, giving up five runs, three hits and four walks while striking out six.
Duke starter Adam Laskey (2-2) pitched three innings, allowing eight runs and 12 hits in taking the loss.
Virginia picked up 12 hits in the first three innings in rolling to an 8-0 lead. After Adam Haseley (Jr., Woodbridge, Va.) hit an RBI double in the first inning, UVA added three in the second as Cody hit a solo home run to left and Novak and Ernie Clement (Jr., Rochester, N.Y.) followed with back-to-back run-scoring hits.
The Cavaliers strung six straight hits together in a four-run third inning, with Cody hitting a two-run double and Caleb Knight (Jr., Checotah, Okla.), in his first start at UVA, following with a two-run single.
Duke (13-12, 4-4 ACC) cut into the lead and knocked Sperling from the game with a six-run fourth inning, capped by a three-run home run from Jimmy Herron.
The Cavaliers scored three runs in the sixth inning, getting a run-scoring single from Cameron Simmons (So., Royersford, Pa.) before Cody lined a two-out, two-run shot over the left-center field wall for his second homer of the day and his fourth of the year. It marked his first career multi-home run game.
Smith mashed his seventh home run of the season in the seventh inning, a two-out, two-run blast into the top row of bleachers in right field. It was the 22nd home run of his career.