It took eight games, but the Virginia baseball team finally got its first win of the season.
In fact, the Cavaliers grabbed three of them, bouncing back from Friday's loss at Liberty to sweep a three-game series against Bucknell this weekend at U.Va. Baseball Field.
The formula the Cavs (3-6-1) employed to break into the win column was nothing revolutionary; they pitched better, bunched their hits together and caught the ball reliably on defense. During its seven-game winless streak that opened the season, Virginia rarely put the three together.
Yesterday, junior lefthander Jon Metzger and a host of bat-wielding teammates bludgeoned the Bison (0-3) to cap off the sweep. Metzger allowed a two-run homer in the first inning, but settled down and lasted seven innings as the Cavalier offense lit up a trio of Bucknell pitchers in a 13-2 victory.
Virginia Coach Dennis Womack said the Bison, who were kicking off their season this weekend, reminded him of the way his Cavaliers played in their season-opening three-game massacre at No. 4 Louisiana State.
"Bucknell's got a pretty nice little club," Womack said. "I think they had the same problems we had when we went to LSU in that they hadn't been on the field very much. It shows in the little things, but I thought they played pretty doggone well."
Metzger (1-2) held the Bison to four hits - and only two after Frank Fresconi's first-inning home run - walked four and struck out five in his seven innings.
"Metzger threw pretty well," Womack said. "He's still not throwing great yet, but he threw better. He'll have to get to the point of using all three pitches on a consistent basis. But he did not have the pitch total that he's been having early, so we were able to extend him into the game."
The Cavaliers gave Metzger plenty of run support, answering Fresconi's homer with a three-run first inning, courtesy of four walks and a hit batter. They tacked on three more runs in the fourth to take a 6-2 lead and erased any Bucknell comeback hopes by sending 13 men to the plate iin a seven-run seventh.
Senior co-captains Tim LaVigne and Luis Giraldo each drove in three runs for the Cavs, who actually had to break a sweat in Saturday's doubleheader.
Senior righthander Kevin Shrout (1-0) allowed only one hit and struck out nine in a 6-1 Virginia victory that was scheduled for only seven innings, but Bucknell almost stole the second game.
Junior Hunter Wyant's game-winning sac fly capped a three-run final-inning comeback for the Cavaliers in Saturday's second game. In his first career appearance, former Virginia trainer Will Parker (1-0) - who caught the coaching staff's eye while pitching batting practice - went two-thirds of an inning to pick up the 5-4 victory.
With three wins under their collective belt, the Cavs said they now have one less thing to worry about going into this week's games at William & Mary and George Mason.
"The more you don't win, the more pressure you put on yourself that every play is a do-or-die situation," Womack said.
LaVigne had an even more pragmatic take on the situation.
"It was important to get a win as soon as possible, because a lot of the young guys probably didn't know we could win," the senior shortstop said with a smile.
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