No. 9 Cavaliers Tame Tigers on Thursday Night

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Behind a strong pitching performance from Henry Zatkowski, the No. 9 Virginia baseball team (27-12, 11-8 ACC) downed the Clemson Tigers (24-15, 5-11 ACC) 6-4 at Disharoon Park on Thursday night (April 16).

 

Zatkowski tossed seven innings of three-run ball to pick up his sixth win of the campaign while tying his career-high in strikeouts with 10. The outing was Zatkowski’s second quality start of the season and first against an ACC opponent.

 

Offensively, the Virginia trio of AJ Gracia, Harrison Didawick and Joe Tiroly each went 2-for-4 on the evening. At the same time, Gracia and Jake Weatherspoon drove in all six of the Cavalier runs on the evening.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The visiting Tigers got on the board first with a two-run blast off the bat of Luke Gaffney in the top of the second.
• After a pitch hit Sam Harris to open the bottom of the second, RJ Holmes flared a two-out single into right field to bring AJ Gracia to the plate. A few pitches later, Gracia crushed a 1-1 offering to left field for a three-run home run that put Virginia out front 3-2. The blast was Gracia’s team-leading 12th of the season and this third in as many games.
• After surrendering the home run in the second, Zatkowski settled in and retired 10 of the next 12 Tiger batters he faced.
• Clemson tied the game at 3-3 in the top of the sixth with a solo home run from Jacob Jarrell.
• Just like in the second inning, UVA answered immediately in the home half of the frame by loading bases. To put the Cavaliers out front for good, Jake Weatherspoon made it a 6-3 ballgame with a bases-clearing double to right center.
• To cap off his outing, Zatkowski sat down the final three Clemson batters that he faced in order.
• In the top of the eighth, Clemson scratched across a run off of Virginia reliever Lucas Hartman to make it a 6-4 contest.
• UVA closer Tyler Kapa worked around back-to-back one-out singles in the ninth to secure the 6-4 Virginia victory and his ACC-leading eighth save.

 

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• The series-opening win was Virginia’s 12th comeback win of the season.
• UVA moves to 9-1 in series openers this year and 6-0 at home.
• The Cavaliers are 23-1 when leading after seven innings.
• In his two ACC home starts this season, Henry Zatkowski has fanned 20 batters in 14 innings pitched.
• AJ Gracia’s blast in the second inning was Virginia’s 69th home run of the year, matching last season’s total in 11 fewer games.
• With his base knock in the second, Joe Tiroly extended his team-best reach base streak to 11 games.

FROM COACH CHRIS POLLARD:

“The two-out two-strike hit by RJ Holmes to extend the inning to get Gracia to the plate was the difference in that inning. Just a really competitive fight on Knaak’s out pitch, the changeup, he poked the ball into right field and gave Gracia a chance to get to the plate and do something special. It was a huge at-bat by Weatherspoon. He ambushed a cutter and I thought it was a great send by Coach Simmons, waving Sam Harris from first on that ball. It was a great jump and a great read by Sam Harris, but the story for me starts with Henry Zatkowski and the job on the mound.”  

UP NEXT

No. 9 Virginia will look to take the series on Friday (April 17) in the second of three games. The Cavaliers will start lefty Kyle Johnson (0-1) on the mound against Clemson’s Michael Sharman (4-1). Friday’s contest is slated for a 6 p.m. start on ACCNX and WINA (98.9 FM/1070 FM).