When the rain started coming down in the fifth inning, the Cavaliers trailed 4-2. The showers lasted less than 20 minutes, but the rainbow that followed was anything but a good omen for Virginia.
Virginia Commonwealth (6-8) used a five-run fifth inning during the rain to propel itself to a 13-7 victory over Virginia (5-2).
"The game was not close," Virginia coach Dennis Womack said. "They pretty well beat on us all day. During the first six games of the season we've really thrown the ball well off the top of the mound and we didn't throw the ball well at any time today."
The Rams jumped out to a good start when junior outfielder Rigo Orozco drove in senior second baseman Bryan Gillespie, who had walked and then stolen second. Junior shortstop Jose Pabon hit a hard line drive to center field, and Orozco tried to score on the play. Virginia junior centerfielder Chris Sweet's throw home was on target to junior catcher Andrew Riesenfeld, who was square in Orozco's way. Orozco bowled Riesenfeld over despite having time to avoid him and was ejected, allowing the Cavaliers to escape with minimal damage.
The Cavaliers tied it up in the bottom of the first despite two outs on the base paths, but they squandered two at-bats with the bases loaded in the next inning.
"Anytime you get a guy on any base and he gets picked off, it hurts your rally," senior third baseman Dan Street said. "It makes the pitcher, without having to pitch the ball, get an out."
In the top of the third, Pabon hit a ground ball down the first base line that was ruled fair despite Womack's objections. VCU sophomore third basemen Nick Jones scored Pabon a play later on a two-run double.
Base-running errors continued to haunt the Cavaliers, with two more outs in the next two innings coming on the base paths, but they did add a run on Kyle Werman's fourth-inning sacrifice fly that scored Sweet.
"We missed some real chances early in the game that could have made a difference," Womack said. "Two base-running mistakes hurt us, and you can't do that. You can't make those kind of plays against good teams."
After Virginia junior pitcher Joe Koshansky surrendered two walks to open the fifth inning and balked twice, he was pulled for junior Ty Collins. The first batter Collins faced Pabon, hit a three-run home run, and the Rams added two more runs despite leaving the bases loaded.
"The key to the game was the fifth inning when we narrowed the score to 4-2," Womack said. "We go right back out there and walk their number one guy and their number two guy, the fastest two guys on their team. We didn't do the things off the top of the mound that we did in the first six games."
The teams essentially traded runs the rest of the game, but the lone bright spot for Virginia was freshman shortstop Mark Reynolds' first career home run.
"We got hammered today," Womack said. "We absolutely deserved to lose this game."
The Rams had come into the game on a four game losing streak, but recovered to hand the Cavaliers their first loss at U.Va. Baseball Stadium.
"I don't think they're a struggling team," Street said. "They've always got a good team. They're not exactly struggling like their record said."
Virginia will jump right back into action when it travels to Williamsburg tomorrow to face William & Mary. The game will be the fifth in six days for the Cavaliers, who won two of three games at the Berkeley Electric Cooperative Challenge in Charleston, S.C. this past weekend.
"That's what happens in college baseball," Womack said. "We won't take a full squad tomorrow. The thing revolves around having your head on straight and getting off to a good start pitching wise because I still think that's the strength of our club."
The Tribe (7-3), who won the CAA championship last season, beat VCU, 6-2, two weeks ago and is averaging a robust 7.6 runs per game this season.
"We should be motivated" for the game, Street said. "It's an in-state game and they're going to be throwing their ace. They're going to want to beat us, and we have to want to beat them just as badly"
Read More
Football lands three additional transfers
By Peter Kriebel | YesterdayOne common trait that stands out with this most recent batch of transfers is size.
Men’s basketball suffers road drubbing versus California
By Emory Huffman | YesterdayVirginia submitted another rudderless performance.
