Cavaliers Top James Madison In Midweek Contest

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia baseball team (22-15) wrapped up its two-game midweek homestand with a 12-6 victory over James Madison (13-28) on Wednesday night (April 23) at Disharoon Park.

With the game tied at 1-1 after the opening inning and half of play, the Cavalier offense exploded for five runs in the second inning. The frame was highlighted by a pair of two-run home runs from Luke Hanson and Chris Arroyo, along with a James Nunnallee RBI single.

 In his first start on the mound this season, Arroyo surrendered one earned run on five hits in three innings of work but did not factor into the decision. At the plate, the junior went 2-for-3 with a game-high three RBIs on the night. 

The Cavalier trio of Jackson Sirois, Henry Ford and Chone James also went 2-for-3 in the contest to join Arroyo. James scored a game-best three times in the victory. 

HOW IT HAPPENED  

• After reaching on a James Madison fielding error, Eric Becker scored the opening run of the game on a Henry Godbout sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first.
• JMU tied the game in the top of the second on a pair of Cavalier errors and an RBI single.
• A James leadoff triple ignited a five-run bottom of the second for Virginia that included the two-run blasts off the bats of Hanson and Arroyo.

• James Madison cut the Virginia advantage to 6-3 with a pair of runs in the visiting half of the third.
• In the bottom of the frame, Hanson scored on a JMU wild pitch to make it a 7-3 contest with three innings in the books.
• The Dukes scored the lone run in the fourth inning with an RBI sacrifice fly to get within three runs at 7-4.
• James jumped-started the Cavalier offense again in the fifth inning with a leadoff double that was followed by a trio of RBI singles that pushed Virginia to a 10-4 lead.
• After the two squads traded runs in the sixth inning, UVA’s 12th and final run came in the bottom of the seventh when Sirois scampered home on a Arroyo sacrifice fly.
• James Madison tacked another run in the eighth when a Duke scored on a Virginia wild pitch.
• Matt Lanzendorfer fanned two of the three batters he faced in the ninth to seal the 12-6 victory for Virginia.

 ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Virginia improves to 12-4 on the season when Aidan Teel bats leadoff.
• Henry Ford extended his on-base streak to 21 games with a single in the first inning,
• Chris Arroyo’s two-run blast in the second gives the junior nine homers on the year with 38 RBIs, both team-highs.
• In his first relief appearance of the season, Tomas Valincius picked up the win by pitching a scoreless inning.
• On the year, the Cavaliers are 20-3 when scoring six or more runs in a game.
• UVA improves to 47-25-1 all-time against JMU and 20-1-1 against the Dukes during the Brian O’Connor era.

 UP NEXT

Virginia will return to ACC play on Friday (April 25) as the Cavaliers head south for a three-game weekend set at No. 24 Georgia Tech. The series opener is slated for a 6 p.m. first pitch and will be carried on ACCNX and WINA (98.9/1070 AM).