Behind a brilliant performance by the Cavalier bullpen, the Virginia baseball team showed excellent poise and mental toughness as it battled back from a 3-0 deficit early in the game to win 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning.
In a game that saw the Cavaliers (23-5, 5-4 ACC) win in dramatic fashion, Virginia coach Brian O'Connor threw everything he had at Longwood (21-8), including himself.
O'Connor had his work cut out for him as he made numerous trips onto the field to dispute questionable calls with umpires and visited the mound five times to change pitchers as Virginia used almost all of its top relievers to get the win.
The storyline for the Cavaliers was their confidence and repeated success in clutch situations, none of which was bigger than senior Brandon Marsh's two-out, game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth inning that drove in freshman Tyler Cannon. Despite being 0 for 4 going into that at-bat, Marsh was able to deliver exactly what the Cavaliers needed.
"That's what a mature, veteran ball club does," O'Connor said. "There was never any panic in the dugout, there was only excitement. You have poise when you've been in tough situations before and you have confidence in your teammates."
The unsung hero of the game was senior closing pitcher Casey Lambert, who entered the game in the top of the ninth with one out, the score tied 3-3 and the bases loaded. After falling behind 2-0 to his first hitter, Lambert came on strong to strike out that batter as well as the next.
"I'm feeling good and my team has confidence in me," Lambert said. "The simple fact that Coach was willing to walk the bases loaded and bring me in in that situation says a lot. That makes it a lot easier when not only do you have 35 other guys in the dugout but you have a whole coaching staff that has 100 percent confidence in you to do the job."
The game had a rocky start for the Cavaliers, as they fell behind 3-0 in the first three innings. Junior starting pitcher Pat McAnaney went 2 1/3 innings giving up three runs on five hits. The middle relievers for the Cavaliers, however, were able to steady the team as the combination of sophomore Andrew Carraway, junior Michael Schwimer, senior Alex Smith and junior Jake Rule held Longwood scoreless through the final six and 2/3 innings while working themselves out of a number of jams.
The Virginia offense was not able to get going until the fifth inning, when senior designated hitter Tim Henry (starting in place of sophomore Greg Miclat who is day-to-day but did not play because of a sore shoulder) bunted in a run. Sean Doolittle, junior first baseman and pitcher, then added a run in the sixth inning as he recorded his team-leading fifth home run. In the eighth inning, sophomore second baseman David Adams scored the tying run from second on a pick-off attempt by Longwood senior starting pitcher Brian McCullough that got past the first baseman. Sophomore left fielder Brandon Guyer was able to extend his now 13-game hitting streak with a double in the fourth.
Virginia travels to Blacksburg this weekend where it will play a three-game series with ACC opponent Virginia Tech.
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