BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Virginia Tech starter M.J. Hurley scattered four hits and three runs over seven innings and Hokie designated hitter David McDonald broke open a 3-3 tie with a sixth inning sacrifice groundout as the Hokies downed Virginia 5-3 yesterday afternoon.
The loss dropped Virginia's record to 22-13 overall and snapped the Cavaliers' two-game winning streak. Virginia will resume their season schedule this weekend against ACC foe NC State.
Virginia Tech jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first inning when second baseman Marc Tugwell hit his sixth homerun of the season, slamming a two-run shot over the left field fence. Centerfielder Brad Bauder followed with a RBI single later in the inning to give the Hokies a 3-0 lead.
The Cavaliers were quick to respond, scoring two runs in the second inning.After catcher Scott Headd's sacrifice groundout batted in third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, second baseman Kyle Werman brought the score to 3-2 with an RBI single.Virginia then tied the game in the third inning with a Ryan Zimmerman sacrifice fly.
The game quickly turned into a pitching duel beginning in the fourth inning.Hurley (2-1) pitched brilliantly in the middle innings, retiring 13 straight batters between the third and the seventh and leaving the game with Tech in the lead 4-3.
"Their guy did a pretty nice job," Virginia coach Dennis Womack said."He did what they needed him to do. He set their relievers up with a lead."
Hurley's sterling performance contrasted greatly with his previous outings. Coming into the game he had given up 14 walks in 14 innings pitched.
"They said he wasn't going to have much control," Virginia senior Eric Christensen said. "But he really had a great day. He had good control of his fastball and slider and made the pitches when he needed to."
Virginia's Matt Avery (1-3) also pitched a fine game, allowing only six hits after giving up three runs in the first inning.
"Our pitchers battled," Womack said. "We got out of some sticky situations."
Avery nearly escaped the stickiest situation of the game in the sixth inning. After a walk, a single and a fielder's choice loaded the bases, Avery got out of the one-out jam by yielding only one run. Unfortunately for Virginia, that one run proved to be the game winner for the Hokies, as the Cavalier bats remained silent for most of the afternoon.
"We just didn't swing the bat well enough," Womack said. "I'm just disappointed that we didn't generate more offensively."
Virginia's inability to score seemed out of character following its 17-run binge against highly-ranked Miami this past Sunday.
"We've been able to generate hits," Christensen said. "We just never could get it going."
The loss proved especially frustrating for the Cavaliers, considering the heated in-state rivalry between the two schools.
"It's not just another mid-week game, because it's Virginia and Virginia Tech," Womack said."If you ask us who our biggest rival is in the state, we'd say 'Virginia Tech.' I'm sure they'd say that it's 'Virginia.'"
The loss also hurts Virginia's chances to get an at-large NCAA bid. The Hokies currently sit at second place in the Big East and a win against them would surely have helped Virginia's tournament resume.
"Every game becomes important when you want a regional at-large birth," Womack said.
The Cavaliers will have two chances to enact revenge next week. They will play the Hokies Monday in Charlottesville and again Wednesday at a neutral site in Salem, Va.
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