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Baseball
Virginia Closes Home Stand with Last At Bat Victory
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Senior Logan Michaels (DeForest, Wis.) delivered a two-out, RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning that proved to be the game-winning hit of a 4-3 victory over UMass Lowell (4-11) on Wednesday afternoon. Virginia improved to 14-4 on the season and 13-2 at Disharoon Park.
Michaels, who came on as a pinch-hitter and eventually a defensive replacement smacked a 2-2 pitch up the middle that plated Chris Newell (Newtown Square, Pa.) from third and broke a 3-3 tie. The go-ahead hit was one of six total from the Cavaliers on the day. Newell was credited with three of them and setup the game-winning rally with a single up the middle.
LOGAN MICHAELS!!! The senior delivers with a single up the middle that scores Chris Newell!
Hoos lead UMass Lowell 4-3 going into the ninth! #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/3Fwb42VY1u
— Virginia Baseball (@UVABaseball) March 11, 2020
UMass Lowell made one last attempt to tie the game in the top of the ninth and loaded the bases before Stephen Schoch (Laurel, Md.) induced the game-winning groundout. Schoch also got the Cavaliers out of a bases loaded jam in the eighth after the River Hawks tied the game for the second time. Schoch pitched two innings, did not allow a run and earned his first victory in a Cavalier uniform. He has pitched in 11 of the 18 games this season.
DOUBLE PLAY!!! Zack Gelof helps UVA escape a bases loaded jam with an unassisted double play at third base!
Middle of the 8th, tied at 3 vs. UMass Lowell
Newell, Tappen & Rivoli due up #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/WQBpeRopOv
— Virginia Baseball (@UVABaseball) March 11, 2020
“I said last night that we’d see a completely different club in UMass Lowell today and we certainly did,” head coach Brian O’Connor said. “It was a tight game throughout, and I thought we did some pretty good things for the most part, pitching wise. It was a completely different offensive day (than yesterday) for us but it’s a good lesson, you have to stick to your fundamentals and that this game is tough to play.”
The Cavaliers used six different pitchers in the contest and received clean outings from Blake Bales (Schoocraft, Mich.), Paul Kosanovich (San Gabriel, Calif.) and Zack Messinger (Chandler, Ind.). Bales logged two innings and worked scoreless third and fourth innings.
Virginia captured leads in the first and seventh innings only to have UMass Lowell knot the game up in the following at bat. The River Hawks only lead of the two-game series came in the top of the first inning and was short lived as the Cavaliers scored two in the bottom half.
The Cavaliers will play their first three true road games this weekend when they take on Pittsburgh in Atlantic Coast Conference action. The three-game series begins on Friday with a first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m.
Additional Notes
• Over 940 students and teachers from local schools came out for the first Field Trip day at Disharoon Park.
• Starting pitcher Jacob Hodorovich made his first collegiate start (Scott Township, Pa.) and allowed two runs on three hits over the first two innings of work. He’s the third freshman to start a game this season for UVA.
• Virginia has won 23 of its last 24 games against non-conference opponents at Disharoon Park.
• Freshman Max Cotier (New Milford, Conn.) gave Virginia a 3-2 lead in the seventh with an RBI single through the left side. He has now hit safely in a team-best, 10-straight games.
• Virginia’s nine-game home run streak came to a close. The Cavaliers did not record an extra-base hit in the contest for the second time this season (Feb. 15 vs. Oklahoma).