When Tuesday's inclement weather forced the cancellation of a scheduled matchup with Liberty, Virginia coach Brian O'Connor was left scrambling trying to find a midweek opponent to keep his squad fresh for this weekend's home series against Wake Forest. Luckily for the Cavaliers, Marshall had an open date and agreed to travel to Charlottesville for a Wednesday afternoon showdown at Davenport Field. Virginia jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back, cruising to a 12-0 win over the Thundering Herd.
"We took control of the game early and just kept pressing on," O'Connor said.
Marshall came into the game leading Conference USA with a .352 team batting average but Virginia's pitching staff proved to be more than capable of stifling the Thundering Herd offense. Sophomore left-hander Pat McAnaney got the start for Virginia and held Marshall to five hits and zero runs while striking out five over five innings of work. He improved his record to 3-1 and dropped his earned run average to 3.23. Freshman right-hander Andrew Carraway pitched three innings of scoreless relief and senior Josh Myers finished off Marshall by hurling a scoreless ninth inning.
"I felt pretty good," McAnaney said. "It was nice to be able to go out and pitch after watching three exciting games this weekend. As a pitcher, you are dying to get out there and do something so it was fun to go out there and play today."
Junior right fielder Brandon Marsh continued his torrid hitting tear, going two for five at the plate and scoring two runs. He leads the team with a .507 batting average. Sophomore first baseman Sean Doolittle went three for four and scored three runs while fellow sophomore Brandon Guyer notched two hits and two runs batted in. The Cavaliers chased Marshall starting pitcher Adam Dobies from the game after a mere three innings of work.
Doolittle's three-hit performance raised his batting average from .325 to .374. He credited his offensive outburst to a shift in his approach at the plate.
"I was trying to be more aggressive early in the count today," Doolittle said. "I was getting behind and battling with two strikes a fair amount this past weekend. Today, [Marshall's pitchers] were going 1-0 a lot and the next pitch they would try to come in and even the count, and I was ready to hit."
With Virginia already up 9-0 in the sixth inning, backup catcher Ryan Hudson jacked a 340-foot three-run homer just inside the left field foul pole. The home run was the first example of a Virginia shot that would not have gone out last year when the left-field fence was two feet taller and 17 feet further back.
"Although he hit it pretty well, that probably would have been on the warning track in the old set-up," O'Connor said laughing.
The win improved Virginia's overall record to 20-4. Last year, it took Virginia until April 5 to reach the 20-win mark.
"I feel like we have a much more well-rounded offense this year," Doolittle said. "This year we can start stuff at the bottom of the lineup just as easily as we can start stuff at the top of the order."
The Cavaliers next take the field Friday afternoon when Wake Forest arrives in Charlottesville for a three-game weekend series. The Demon Deacons are unranked but have notched impressive wins against North Carolina, Florida, Missouri and Elon, while accumulating an 18-5 record.
Read More
Virginia baseball has an ace up its sleeve and in its bullpen — Dean Kampschror
By Xander Tilock | 7 hours agoThe senior pitcher is exactly what the Cavaliers need to succeed in 2025.
Wrestling gets blown out 34-9 on long road trip to Stanford
By Ryan Weiner | YesterdaySolid performances from its most reliable trio were not enough for Virginia.
Freshman excellence powers No. 5 men’s tennis past Boise State, No. 19 Alabama
By Thomas Baxter | 2 days agoVirginia, unlike many other regional hosts, held serve as its quartet's top seed.
