Virginia Tosses Shutout in Nightcap to Earn DH Split

Highlights (Game 1) | Highlights (Game 2) | Game 1 Box Score (PDF) | Game 2 Box Score (PDF)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Three Virginia (5-5) pitchers combined for a five-hit, 4-0 shutout in the nightcap of a doubleheader against Seton Hall (1-6). The Pirates took game one with a shutout of their own, 3-0.
 
The series finale on Sunday (March 3) has been canceled due to inclement weather.
 
Game 1
Seton Hall starting pitcher Noah Thompson worked into the ninth inning and limited Virginia hitters to a pair of hits on a career day for the right-hander. He nearly recorded his first complete game but exited in the top of the ninth after a one-out, hit by pitch.
 
Thompson faced the minimum over the first 3.2 innings pitched before Tanner Morris (Crozet, Va.) doubled down the left field line for the second Cavalier hit in the contest. After the Morris two-bagger, Thompson retired 13 of the next 14 batters. He needed just 95 pitches in a career-high, 8.1 innings of work. He finished the day with six strikeouts, a hit-by-pitch and a walk.
 
The Cavaliers spoiled the second-straight quality start by Noah Murdock (Colonial Heights, Va.). The righty matched a career-best with seven innings pitched. He struck out four batters while walking only one.
 
Reliever Chesdin Harrington (Montpelier, Va.) posted a pair of zeros on the scoreboard over the final two innings of the ballgame. He stranded a pair of runners in scoring position, one in each of his two innings of work. He has now worked seven-straight innings without yielding a run.
 
The Pirates scored one run in the first inning and two more in the fourth. The two-run rally in the fourth saw an RBI single by Matt Toke and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Alex Clyde. Tyler Shedler-McAvoy scored the game’s first run coming in on a Virginia double play.

Game 2
Sophomore Griff McGarry (Portola Valley, Calif.), Paul Kosanovich (Temple City, Calif.) and Andrew Abbott (Halifax, Va.) combined for the team’s second shutout of the season. The Cavaliers scored four runs in their first two turns at the plate including a three-run, eight-batter second inning.
 
McGarry struck out eight batters in six innings of work while scattering three hits in his second-straight quality start. The righthander stranded eight Pirate runners, including three in scoring position. He has accumulated 17 strikeouts over his last two starts and improved to 2-1 on the season.
 
The Virginia offense broke through early after being kept quiet in game one. Freshman Zack Gelof (Rehoboth Beach, Del.) led the first inning off with a single and later came around a batter later on a Morris RBI double off the left field wall.
 
Making his first start and his fourth third at bat of the season, Devin Ortiz (Irvington, N.J.) began the second frame with his first career home run, a solo shot beyond the left field wall. The long ball ignited a three-run inning that included RBI singles from Cayman Richardson (Mechanicsville, Va.) and Brendan Rivoli (Douglassville, Pa.).
 
Gelof finished game two, 2-for-3 with two runs scored and Rivoli was 2-for-4 with an RBI.
 
In relief of McGarry, Kosanovich and Abbott made quick work of the Pirates over the last three innings. Kosanovich faced seven batters, allowed a hit and needed only 18 pitches. Abbott struck out three batters in the ninth, bringing his season total up to nine in 4.1 innings pitched.
 
Additional Notes
• Morris and Gelof have reached base in all 10 games this season. Gelof was 2-for-3 in the twinbill with two runs scored.
• Seton Hall turned three inning-ending double plays in game three.
• The game one shutout marked only the second time in the last 159 games that UVA had been held without a run.