RICHMOND, Va. - _The Virginia baseball team (20-19, 7-8 ACC) learned yesterday that it is, in fact, possible to tame a spider. It wasn't pretty, easy or short work, but the Cavaliers took a win over the University of Richmond (33-5, 12-0 Atlantic 10) yesterday at Pitt Field. The 12-11 victory came after 10 long, hot innings of what one member of the Cavalier bench called "the ugliest game I've ever seen."
Yet maybe it was just the grit that had been lacking in the Cavaliers' previous four losses. Perhaps it was Tuesday's loss to Richmond at home that lit a fire under the Virginia squad today and gave them the urge to fight.
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Whatever it was, the Cavaliers came out strong and never let up. Jumping to an early 5-0 lead, Virginia looked as though it had rediscovered its game. While the defensive effort was not without flaws, the Cavaliers looked strong at the plate and sophomore starter Joe Koshansky maintained his composure on the mound.
In the bottom of the third, with the support of a vocal home crowd, the Spiders began taking it to the Cavaliers when - with one man on - Richmond's sophomore shortstop Matt Craig hit one over the center field fence. Fre_shman second baseman Brian Ruscello took another home run off Koshansky in the fourth, and Craig drilled his second two-run homer in the fifth, tying the game at five each.
The Cavaliers seemed as though their handle on the game was slipping away in the sixth when they gave up three more runs, leaving them behind 8-5. While it seemed as though the Spiders were poised to claim another victory, Virginia kept its cool.
"That's just the ebb and flow of the game," coach Dennis Womack said. "You're hardly ever going to be on, going full steam for nine innings, we just needed to make sure we stayed in it."
And they did just that, answering Richmond's challenge with two runs in the seventh and another in the eighth to tie things up once again. In the bottom of the eighth, the Spiders reeled in three runs, leaving the Cavaliers with one inning to make up the difference.
Virginia scored two quick runs to bring the score within one. Then, bases loaded and no outs, senior third baseman Dan Street singled to drive in the tying run. Richmond failed to seal the deal in the bottom of the ninth.
"I think that's just the nature of our club," Street said. "We just know that we have to go out there and fight for it."
In the top of the tenth, Richmond walked outfielder David Stone with the bases loaded, putting Virginia ahead by one run. Street started the defensive fight in the bottom of the tenth, going into the Spider dugout to catch a foul. With another out at first, victory was near. Richmond's Mike Gula got a piece of junior Ty Collins' last pitch and sent the ball into left field to die - along with any potential for a Spider victory - in the glove of Stone.
It was a sweet win for the Cavaliers.
"I think it was just time for something to roll our way," Street said. Especially after several hard losses, yesterday's victory should be sweet motivation for the next several games. The Cavaliers will face Virginia Tech tomorrow in Salem, Virginia.
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