Riding the arm and bat of junior Joe Koshansky, Virginia improved to a school-record 16-0 at home this season as it defeated Liberty last night, 3-0. The Cavaliers have won 10 straight games, the longest current streak among ACC teams and the longest for a Virginia baseball team since 1947.
Koshansky (4-0) stole the show as he carried the Cavaliers (19-8, 5-3 ACC) to the victory on Wednesday night. He took the hill for 8.0 innings, allowing only four hits and no runs in a 9-strikeout performance. He wasn't finished there. Koshansky, the regular starter at first base, also pinch hit for junior outfielder Paul Gillispie in the bottom of the eighth with two outs and no one on. He sent a 3-2 pitch over the left field fence, putting the Cavaliers up 3-0 and cementing his name in the memory of every Liberty player who made the trip to Charlottesville.
The versatility displayed by the lefthander against the Flames brings to mind the name Brooks Kieschnick, the former University of Texas star whose battle to revive his career with the Milwaukee Brewers as a hitter/pitcher was chronicled weekly in Sports Illustrated during Spring Training.
"Yeah I know who you're talking about," Koshansky joked after the game. "Maybe [he'll become my favorite player]. It gives you hope."
While not clinging to any serious notion that he may shine as a Kieschnick-clone, Koshansky does enjoy the duality of his role on the team. A pitcher his entire life, he also has experience juggling the two positions that dates back to his high school days at Chantilly.
"I love pitching, and I've always been a pitcher," Koshansky explained. "But when I pitch one day, I don't like to sit around and watch. I like to be able to go out there and play first base. It's two totally different mindsets."
While his heart may rest on the mound, his true value this season has come as an everyday position player, where his .341 batting average is good enough for fourth best on the team.
Koshansky's recent string of home runs--his first of the year gave Virginia the win against Maryland two games ago--have stirred up talk of the label "power hitter" being included with his name in opposing scouting reports.
"It's been probably about three years sine I've had that title," Koshansky recalled. "I put some work in at the weight room this summer, trying to make myself into a little bit more of a power hitter. So it's good to have it finally pay off a little bit."
With the game scoreless heading into the bottom of the fourth, each team had mustered only one hit. Virginia freshman Matt Dunn led off with a stand-up double and moved to third when shortstop Mark Reynold's line drive single dropped in center field. After starter Jon Banke walked Gillispie to load the bases, Virginia freshman standout Ryan Zimmerman stepped up to the plate with no outs. Although hitting into a double play, the third baseman knocked in Dunn to give the Cavaliers the only run they would need for the win.
Zimmerman contributed on the defensive side as well, grabbing a nice bare-hander on the run to throw out second baseman Larry Wayne York in the fourth inning. He also prevented a Liberty run in the very next frame after Koshansky got stuck in a second-and-third jam with only one down. Josh Hirt, Zimmerman's Liberty counterpart at third, hit a dribbler to the Virginia Beach native and reached first safely as Zimmerman threw the ball to catcher Andrew Riesenfeld in time to plant the tag on shortstop Daniel Bote.
The Flames threatened to destroy Koshansky's shutout with a runner on third and one out in the seventh inning, but a three-pitch strikeout of Bote and a fly-out by first-baseman Chad Bryan killed any whispers of a late-inning comeback.
Coming up to bat in the bottom of the inning, the 6'2", 200-pound Zimmerman sparked another Cavalier rally with an uncharacteristic bunt that trickled down the third base line. It would be the last batter that Liberty's Banke would face. Despite a stellar performance of six innings pitched, four hits, and one earned run, the lefthander (0-2) was credited with the loss. Small ball was the theme of the inning as Kyle Werman's sacrifice bunt with the bases jammed sent Zimmerman home for the Cavaliers' second run.
"I peeked down and the third baseman was back, so I figured I might try to get a cheap hit," Zimmerman said afterward.
Cheap or not, a hit is a hit, and a win is a win. Virginia will try to bolster its standing in the ACC with a weekend series at Clemson.
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