In a game that hung in the balance going into the ninth inning at Davenport Field, the Cavaliers were able to fight off a scrappy team from VMI 5-3 for their ninth straight victory. With the win, the Cavaliers maintained their unblemished home record of 9-0.
Sophomore Andrew Carraway picked up his first win of the season in three innings of shutout relief. Carraway blew away the Keydets from the 4th inning to the 6th, giving up just one hit and striking out seven.
"The umpire was calling them a little more outside today than usual, so if you just hit your spots, good things happen," Carraway said. "I wasn't trying to get the strikeout, I was just trying to get contact, but some days that will happen if you do what you're supposed to."
Offensively, junior first baseman Sean Doolittle led the way for the Cavaliers (11-1), going 2-3 with a double and a solo homerun. The homerun came in the seventh inning, giving the Cavaliers a two-run cushion heading down the stretch. The solo shot was especially meaningful for Doolittle, as he had cost Virginia a run in the fourth when he muffed a sharp groundball with a runner on, who scored to knot the game at 3-3.
"Between the error and the ugly strikeout I had in my second at bat, I knew I was going to put that behind me," Doolittle said. "I knew that if the game stayed the way it was that there was a chance that I could get called on to step up and have a big hit and do something offensively."
Because VMI has had several cancellations and postponements recently, they were able to throw all of their pitching firepower at Virginia, and indeed all three of their weekend starters had toed the mound by game's end. Trey Barham, Michael Bowman and Travis Smink, the Keydets' number one, two and three pitchers, respectively, pitched the first six innings.
"I knew we were going to see all them today and they were going to have to chop the game up to start to get their rotation in line starting this weekend," O'Connor said. "It was a smart move on their coaches' part, I would have done the same thing."
The Cavaliers got off to a fast start early on. In the first inning, sophomore shortstop Greg Miclat bunted his way on to lead off, then stole second base and was moved to third by a groundball. Doolittle walked and then moved to second on a wild pitch by Bowman. Sophomore David Adams then singled in both runners to give the Cavaliers a 2-0 lead. Virginia added another run in the third, as senior center fielder Mike Mitchell scored on a Brandon Marsh groundout.
The Cavaliers added another run in the fifth. After Doolittle hit a two-out double, Adams walked and Guyer singled, scoring Doolittle.
VMI's only offensive surge came in the fourth, as they scored three runs off of freshman Neil Davis. AJ Yoder led off with a single, Robert Crumpler followed with a double and Eddie Van Es singled to score both runners. Van Es then stole second on a controversial non-interference call by the home plate umpire. Van Es then scored on the Doolittle error.
This game served as a preview to the ACC season for the Cavaliers. Because so many teams in the conference are nationally ranked, many of those games may have scores similar to last night.
"It was good for us to be in that situation where they came back and tied it," O'Connor said. "We had to go to the bullpen, and we had to scratch and claw and find a couple of runs. That's what it's going to be like for 30 of our ballgames in this league."
Read More
McCabe Millon ‘is ready for’ the pressure
By Michael Liebermann | 8 minutes agoA whole new role awaits the star attackman.
Wrestling enters John Paul Jones Arena hoping for a turnaround
By Ryan Weiner | 12 hours agoThe season's coolest event could double as a big moment in the season's trajectory.
Women’s sports are finally getting the recognition they deserve
By Cierra Lyles | 13 hours agoAttendance at women's sporting events is at an all-time high.
