With the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, things seemed eerily familiar for Old Dominion. One day earlier, ODU (2-2) knocked off No. 4 North Carolina by scoring eight runs in the final three innings to upset the highly touted Tar Heels.
Even better, ODU's best hitter, senior first baseman Bryan Cipolla, stood at the plate. A day earlier, Cipolla tallied six RBI and a ninth-inning home run that sent the Monarchs to extra innings against the Tar Heels.
Down 7-3 against No. 16 Virginia (5-0), Cipolla was one swing away from tying the game and sending the Cavaliers into disarray.
But with a 2-2 slider and a fastball in on the hands from senior pitcher Michael Schwimer, all those thoughts were put to rest. The pitch was called a strike, and Virginia escaped with a 7-3 victory.
For the fifth straight game, Virginia had dominant starting pitching, coming in the form of sophomore Matt Packer. Packer threw six innings, giving up one unearned run and one hit. He also struck out seven while walking only two.
"I was just happy to see Matt Packer throw the ball the way he did," Virginia coach Brian O'Connor said. "He won that ballgame for us."
Despite moving from the weekend rotation to pitching weekdays, Packer doesn't see his move as a demotion.
"You could look at it either way, but I chose to look at it as kind of a compliment," Packer said. "You get to throw against arguably two of the better teams that we play in the first couple of weeks."
Packer is expected to get his next start when Virginia travels to take on VMI next Tuesday.
"Either way, I am just happy to still be starting."
The Virginia offense got on the scoreboard quickly, tagging ODU junior starter Matt Walls for two runs in the first. The Cavaliers then scattered five runs throughout the game but were never able to put ODU in a chokehold.
"You learn a great lesson from this game," O'Connor said. "When you get a chance early to put a team away, you need to do it."
Virginia, with plenty of chances to score, managed 15 hits, but left 11 runners on base during the game.
"We had a lot of missed opportunities where we could have put [Walls] away early, and we didn't," O'Connor said.
In the ninth, freshman Robert Morey was looking to grab the first save of his Virginia career, but allowed two unearned runs to score on a throwing error by sophomore catcher Ryan Smith and a fielding error by freshman shortstop Phil Gosselin. Morey then gave up a single and two walks, forcing O'Connor to turn to his closer, Schwimer.
"I wasn't happy about having to bring Michael Schwimer in the game because of the cold, and if you have a comfortable lead, you don't want to have to bring your closer in, but with who they had up I just felt like I didn't have any choice," O'Connor said.
Schwimer said he was forced to warm up faster than he ever has before to enter the game. With the sun set and temperatures near 30 degrees, Schwimer was under intense pressure. The temperature was not a factor though, once Schwimer was on the mound.
"You don't feel the cold when coach O'Connor looks down, walks up and down the runway, the adrenaline is flowing. You can't feel the weather," Schwimer said.
Luckily for the Cavaliers, Schwimer's arm was plenty warm, and in five pitches, Virginia was able to send the Monarchs home without a win in their pockets.
"Things happen at the end of the game, and sometimes you can be one swing of the bat away from being right back in the ballgame, and they were in that situation," O'Connor said.
Read More
With much-needed win over Miami, men’s basketball ends road losing streak
By Emory Huffman | 2 hours agoIt was another battle of the bottom, and Virginia proved it is at least above the conference's floor.
Men’s and women’s squash find success at CSA Individual Championships
By Peter Kratz | 2 hours agoIn individual competition, the Cavaliers excelled.
Virginia baseball has an ace up its sleeve and in its bullpen — Dean Kampschror
By Xander Tilock | YesterdayThe senior pitcher is exactly what the Cavaliers need to succeed in 2025.
