For the George Washington baseball team, the early season trip to Charlottesville was one to forget. The Colonials (0-3) gave up 22 runs and scored only one in their first two games against the Cavaliers. Monday's game was no different, as No. 7 Virginia (5-2) won 15-2 and swept the series in commanding fashion.
"Sweeps are hard to get in college baseball," Virginia coach Brian O'Connor said. "I thought we played really good baseball this weekend. We hit really well, played pretty good defense, pitched really well and took advantage of our opportunities."
Freshman pitcher Matt Packer (1-0) picked up his first win as a Cavalier. Packer went six innings, giving up no runs on six hits and allowing only one walk while striking out nine.
Packer found himself in trouble in the fourth inning, giving up three consecutive singles to load the bases with no outs. Coach Karl Kuhn came to the mound and spoke with Packer before the next play. Packer got out of the jam by striking out the next two batters and inducing an inning-ending ground ball to the first baseman.
"Coach told me to just throw strikes, let them put the ball in play and let our fielders take care of it," Packer said.
Packer's start was the second one in his career at Virginia. He pitched 4.2 innings against Coastal Carolina last week, striking out six.
"After last week, everyone was pretty happy with the way I threw," Packer said. "The fielders were more behind me [today] because they knew I was going to go out, throw strikes, and get the job done."
Offensively, the Cavaliers continued their torrid pace, amassing 15 runs for a total of 37 in the three-game series. Senior right fielder Brandon Marsh went 3-5 with two runs, five RBIs and a homerun down the left field line in the sixth inning.
"[The coaching staff] knows we have a long stretch of games ahead of us and I think they're starting to see the depth of our team and of the pitching staff and how we can call upon anyone at anytime and know that the job is going to get done," Marsh said. "We have the depth to do the sweeps and play eight games in nine days."
O'Connor told his team that even though Virginia is favored to win all its games on this stretch, it's too overwhelming to try to sweep the whole series. Instead, O'Connor's players take it day by day.
Sophomore shortstop Greg Miclat also continued his hot hitting; on the same day he was named ACC Player of the Week for his hitting display over the weekend. Miclat was pulled after four innings, but still went 3-3 with two runs and two RBIs. Over the span of the three game series, Miclat went 4-5 Saturday, 5-5 Sunday and 3-3 Monday, amassing a .923 batting average with one double, four triples, four stolen bases, five runs and seven RBIs.
Miclat led off the bottom of the first inning with a triple, sending a high line drive over the leftfielder's head and diving head first into third base for the triple. Marsh followed that with a groundout to shortstop, which allowed Miclat to score. In the third inning, Virginia scored six runs, four of which came on consecutive two-RBI singles from Miclat and Marsh.
The Cavaliers are back on the field today for their fourth straight game as they welcome the William & Mary Tribe (1-5). After today, the Cavaliers play tomorrow against Coppin State, rest Thursday and then open a three game series against Bucknell Friday.
"I hope that [the schedule] is able to get us in a good groove," O'Connor said. "Baseball is a game that's meant to be played everyday. I hope it makes a difference offensively because our guys are getting a lot of reps in a short period of time."
The game today will be a match of freshman southpaws, as Virginia starts Jeff Lorick and the Tribe counters with Tyler Truxell. Both pitchers have made relief appearances, but both will be making their first career starts today.
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