On a picture perfect day for baseball at Davenport field, the Virginia Cavaliers recorded the most lopsided victory in team history. In an effort to keep their undefeated home record intact, Virginia tied its single game mark of 29 runs in a single game.
In a game that saw No. 7 Virginia (17-3, 1-2 ACC) defer from its usual starting lineup, the team didn't miss a beat. After returning from a tough weekend at Wake Forest, in which they lost two of three games, the Cavaliers bounced back to record the 29-2 win. Even without several team leaders, the Cavaliers were able to come up with a huge victory. Sophomore Jeremy Farrell was out with a forearm injury and Sophomores Sean Doolittle and Beau Seabury both had the day off.
The game was decided well before stretch time as the Cavaliers went up 15-0 after the first two innings. Virginia was able to jump out to an early lead behind sophomore left-fielder Brandon Guyer, who batted in four runs on three hits in the first two innings alone. Guyer finished the game with three singles, a double and nine RBIs. Guyer's RBI production against Niagara nearly doubled his season total.
"I have to credit my teammates for getting on base," Guyer said. "I was happy to see that every time I came up, the bases were loaded."
Seniorcenter-fielderMike Mitchell also stepped up for the Cavaliers as he went four for five with two RBIs and four runs scored.Winning sophomore pitcher Andrew Carraway (2-0) had a solid outing as he pitched three innings, giving up one run and striking out four. Normally only seeing relief duty, Carraway got the starting nod in order to gain some experience in that role. Relieving Carraway was junior Pat McAnaney, who had previously been inactive due to injury. After giving up a home run to Niagara's Tim Alberts (who extended his now 32-game hitting streak), McAnaney shut down the Purple Eagles for the next 2 1/2 innings.
"It was the perfect opportunity to get his feet wet, get him three innings of work and start to build him up," Virginia coach Brian O'Connor said. "Obviously he is going to be a key guy for us over the back half of the season."Virginia's offensive explosion included at least one RBI by all nine starters. Senior catcher Ryan Hudson, starting in place of Seabury, had four RBIs on three hits including a three-run home run in the fourth. Niagara had no answer for the power of Virginia's offense. Seven different Purple Eagle pitchers were used throughout the contest.
"I really thought our hitters swung the bats really well," O'Connor said. "We did a great job of stringing hits together. There was only one error on the scoreboard, and to score 29 runs with only one error is unheard of."
The game was called after seven and a half innings due to agreement by both coaches. Virginia now prepares to travel to Chapel Hill for a three-game series with ACC and national powerhouse North Carolina.
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