Pitching Lifts Virginia Over Navy In Midweek Finale

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – In the final game before the exam break, the Virginia baseball team (26-16) topped Navy (23-23) 5-1 on Wednesday afternoon (April 30) at Disharoon Park.

The Cavalier pitching quartet of Chris Arroyo, Wes Arrington, Matthew Buchanan and Drew Koenen held the Navy offense to a run on three hits while striking out nine Midshipmen batters.

Arroyo, the UVA starter, pitched a career-long 4.2 innings of one-run ball with three strikeouts but did not factor into the decision.

Offensively, Henry Ford and Chone James each went 2-for-4 with an RBI in the midweek victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED  

• Jacob Ference opened the scoring on Wednesday afternoon with a solo home run in the bottom of the second that hit off the scoreboard in left center. The dinger was Ference’s fifth of the season.

• Virginia tacked on three more runs in the fourth, which included an RBI single from James that plated Arroyo. Two at-bats later, Ference scored for the second time in the contest on a Luke Hanson sacrifice fly before James Nunnallee scampered home on a Navy passed ball to make it 4-0.
• Navy’s lone run of the contest came in the top of the fifth when Arroyo surrendered a leadoff walk that later came around to score on a double down the left field line.
• In relief of Arroyo, the Cavalier pitching duo of Arrington and Buchanan each tossed a shutout inning without allowing a hit.

• Aidan Teel opened the bottom of the seventh with his 16th double of the season. The junior scored the final UVA run of the game two at-bats later when Ford smacked a single back up the middle to give Virginia a 5-1 advantage.

• To pick up his fourth win of the season, Koenen did not allow a Midshipmen baserunner over his 2.1 innings of work. The righthander tallied a season-high three strikeouts to crystallize the Virginia 5-1 win.

 ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Virginia improves to 16-5 when Aidan Teel bats leadoff.
• Navy’s three hits on Wednesday tied for the fewest hits surrendered by the Cavalier pitching staff this season. Virginia also only allowed three hits against Rice (February 16) and Pitt (April 13).
• Henry Ford tallied his team-best 22nd multi-hit game on Wednesday with a pair of singles.
• With the win, UVA improves to 20-10 all-time against Navy and now have won 10-straight games over the Midshipmen dating back to 2001.

 UP NEXT

Virginia will take a break for exams before hosting Towson on May 7. The midweek contest is slated for a 6 p.m. first pitch and will be carried on ACCNX and WINA (98.9 FM/1070 AM ).