Virginia Edged 6-5 by Mississippi State in CWS Game 2

OMAHA, Neb. – Virginia (36-26) suffered a 6-5 loss against No. 7 Mississippi State (47-17) on Tuesday (June 22) at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska.

The Cavaliers will face No. 2 Texas (50-18) in an elimination game on Thursday (June 24) at 7 p.m. ET.

Virginia starter Griff McGarry (Portola Valley, Calif.) took a no-hitter and a 4-0 lead into the eighth inning, but the Bulldogs scored six runs on six hits in the frame, including a two-run and a three-run home run to go ahead 6-4. Sophomore Chris Newell (Newton Square, Pa.) hit a solo shot in the eighth to narrow the gap, but Mississippi State sat down the Cavaliers in order in the ninth to close out the victory. 

Top Performers

• Griff McGarry –  7.1 IP (Career-high), 1 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 SO

• Zack Gelof – 3-for-4, 2 R, RBI

• Kyle Teel – 3-for-5, RBI

Key Moments

• Virginia needed just three batters to plate the first run of the game. Zack Gelof (Rehoboth Beach, Del.) led off the bottom of the first with a single and was sacrificed over by Max Cotier (New Milford, Conn.). Zack Gelof scored on an RBI single by freshman Kyle Teel (Mahwah, N.J.). 

• The Cavaliers plated three runs in the bottom of the second on three consecutive hits. Newell started the run-scoring rally with an RBI double to left center and switched spots with Zack Gelof who followed with an RBI double of his own. Cotier knocked out Mississippi State starting pitcher Christian MacLeod after 1.1 innings with an RBI single up the middle and made the score 4-0.
• In Mississippi State’s six-run eighth inning, Kellum Clark hit a two-run home run to break up the McGarry no-hitter. Two batters later, Tanner Allen hit a three-run home run off reliever Stephen Schoch.

Notes

• In three NCAA Tournament starts, McGarry has pitched 17.1 innings allowed five runs, five hits and struck out 26 batters.
• The 7.1 innings from McGarry were a career-high and it marked the second-straight week he produced a quality start. 
• McGarry carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning for the second-straight week. Of the five hits he’s surrendered in the NCAA Tournament, three have left the ballpark.
• Virginia left 10 runners on base, six in scoring position.
• The two teams used a combined 13 pitchers (eight of Mississippi State; five for UVA), tying a College World Series record.
• The four runs surrendered by the Cavalier bullpen snapped a streak of 11.2 scoreless innings. Coming into the contest, the Virginia bullpen had allowed just eight runs in its nine previous NCAA Tournament games.
• UVA had three sacrifice bunts in the contest, one shy of the program’s NCAA Tournament high set in 2014 and one shy of its season-high is four at Georgia Tech on April 3.
• Teel extended his reached base streak to 25 games with his RBI single in the first inning.
• Kyle Whitten made his 78^th appearance of his career, the ninth most in program history. He currently sits two appearances behind Josh Sborz (2013-15).
• The six-run eighth inning was the seventh time a UVA opponent scored five or more runs in an inning and the first time since April 27.
• Virginia dropped to 12-4 in games in which it scores first.
• The Cavaliers are 13-8 in one-run games and have played five one-run affairs in the NCAA Tournament.