By the time the second game of Virginia's double header with Maryland Eastern Shore rolled around, there were more people leaving the stadium than entering -- an understandable move considering Virginia had just won the first game 15 to one.
The game with UMES started out fairly routinely. The first inning was scoreless, the second inning Virginia scored once, and then, in the third inning, Virginia scored eight runs. The Cavaliers then added onto an already substantial lead in the fourth by getting another five runs. A single run in the fifth brought the total up to 15. UMES managed to score one run at the top of the seventh before the game was called on a 10-run mercy rule.
The second game, although Virginia only managed to rack up six runs, was much the same. Virginia started off the game by scoring five runs in the first inning, then holding its lead throughout the game, adding onto it in the sixth when Brandon Guyer scored.
Sean Doolittle and Ryan Zimmerman were perhaps the all stars of the game. Over the course of two games, Doolittle hit for the cycle -- including a triple and a homerun in one inning. Zimmerman, afraid a freshman was stepping up to the plate to challenge his record, defended his .420 batting average by hitting a homer once and doubling three times over the course of the games.
A large part of the hits and plays in Wednesday's game, however, came from players who never had seen the field before. With Virginia up 9-0 by the third, O'Connor had the luxury of rotating some not-so-experienced players into the lineup.
"Every one of our 33 players works so hard, and it's just impossible to get them all time in there," O'Connor said. "It's nice when your offense breaks a game open so you can get some guys in and give them the experience of playing because they haven't tried that the entire year."
In the first game, over the course of seven innings, Virginia put in 20 different players including three pitchers. The second game, Virginia only played 14 people on the field, including four pitchers. The second game also lasted only seven innings.
"The more you can play, the more experience you can get, it's going to be better," third basemen/short stop Zimmerman said. "If you can play in games like this, you're not going to be nervous in environments like Clemson, because it's not going to be your first time out there."
Virginia also was able to give some playing time to pitchers who might not have gotten game experience so far. Of the seven pitchers who ended up pitching for Virginia over the duration of the two games, only three had pitched more than two innings before appearing on the mound yesterday.
The games provided another opportunity, for players who have been injured. Several players have been coming back from injury over the past two weeks, among them Josh Darby, and, most recently, Tom Hagan. The game gave these players a good opportunity to get in some valuable, low-pressure playing time.
"Tom has been an integral part of our success here for a year and a half," O'Connor said. "Now Tom's back, he's playing with some confidence. He looks like he's healthy; I think he's going to add a lot to our ball club. Josh Darby, too, gives us another option for a left handed hitter we have confidence in."
Tuesday and Wednesday's games offered the Cavaliers a chance to really power up their offense and see the depth of their team. Hopefully they will carry the confidence of these three incredible wins down with them when they travel to Clemson for a three-game series this weekend.
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