No. 23 Cavaliers Fall to Duke on SaturdayNo. 23 Cavaliers Fall to Duke on Saturday

No. 23 Cavaliers Fall to Duke on Saturday

Virginia looks to salvage the series on Sunday.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.  – Duke (15-9, 4-4 ACC) produced a pair of four-run innings on its way to a 13-2 victory over the No. 23 Virginia baseball team (12-9, 3-5 ACC) in seven innings at Disharoon Park on Saturday afternoon (March 22).

The visiting Blue Devils plated four runs in the second and fifth innings before sealing the win with three more runs in the seventh. Virginia was held scoreless over the opening four frames of the contest before breaking through with runs in the fifth and sixth innings.

UVA starting pitcher Tomas Valincius was dealt the loss on Saturday after surrendering seven runs in 4.1 innings pitched with six strikeouts. Trey Wells accounted for two of Virginia’s four hits on the day and scored once.

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • Duke struck first with a four-run top of the second. In the frame, the Blue Devils collected a pair of one-out RBI doubles before a two-run single put the visitors up 4-0 after an inning and a half in the books.
  • In the third, Duke extended its lead to 5-0 on a Jake Hyde solo home run.
  • Following a Cavalier error in the top of the fourth, the Blue Devils plated another quartet of runs, including a two-run home run from Macon Winslow to push their advantage to 9-0.
  • Virginia got on the board with a pinch-hit Chone James RBI single to right field that scored Wells from second in the fifth.
  • The Blue Devils answered by adding another run in the sixth when Ben Miller came home to score from third on a Virginia wild pitch.
  • Henry Godbout opened the home half of the sixth with a single up the middle before coming around to score on an Aidan Teel groundout for UVA’s final run of the day to make it a 10-2 contest.
  • Duke responded in its half of the seventh with three more runs to run-rule the Cavaliers and take Saturday’s game by a score of 13-2. 

ADDITIONAL NOTES

  • Michael Yeager and August Richie made their UVA debuts on Saturday out of the bullpen.
  • In the first action of his collegiate career, Yeager allowed two unearned runs in an inning pitch with a strikeout.
  • Richie surrendered an unearned run in his outing that started his Cavalier career.
  • Teel’s on-base streak of 20 games to open the season ended on Saturday with a 0-for-3 day.
  • Virginia drops to 6-2 following a loss on the season.

UP NEXT

The series against Duke concludes on Sunday (March 23) with the final game of a three-game set. Lefty Evan Blanco (1-0) will get on the ball for the Cavaliers in the weekend finale that is slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch. ACCNX and WINA (98.9 FM/1070 AM will broadcast the game.