For the first four years of Virginia coach Brian O’Connor’s tenure with the Cavaliers, a home run was an uncommon occurrence.
Last night, though, this year’s power-heavy Virginia offense lifted the Cavaliers from a two-run deficit against Georgetown, which has the worst winning percentage on Virginia’s schedule. A solo homer from sophomore centerfielder Jarrett Parker and a three-run moon shot from sophomore left fielder Phil Gosselin fueled the Cavaliers to a 9-3 victory against the Hoyas at Davenport Field.
“I don’t think that we played a really good baseball game [last night] fundamentally, and that’s what I shared with the team after the game,” O’Connor said, “but the important thing is that we won the ball game. College baseball games are hard to win, and you need to enjoy ‘em when you get ‘em.”
Virginia (32-8-1, 11-7-1 ACC) faced a scare from Georgetown (11-26) early. After Parker cranked an opposite-field solo shot to give the Cavaliers a one-run lead in the third inning, Georgetown senior Sean Baumann crushed Virginia freshman pitcher Will Roberts’ delivery with two runners on base to put the Hoyas up 3-1.
Roberts is “a freshman and he’s learning,” O’Connor said. “He’s given us some really good quality starts in his career.”
That margin stood until the bottom of the fifth, when the Cavaliers finally delivered. Sophomore Corey Hunt led off the inning with a drag bunt single, and the next batter, Parker, was grazed by Georgetown starting pitcher Jared Cohen to put two runners on base with no outs. After freshman John Hicks grounded into a 6-3 fielder’s choice, Gosselin yanked a towering shot deep into the left field bleachers for his fifth home run of the season and his first since April 5 against Maryland.
“I was just trying to get something to the outfield to get the run in,” Gosselin said. “He left the pitch over the plate, and luckily I was able to put a pretty good swing on it.”
Though Gosselin’s home run was the more important of the two, Parker’s also was a relief. Parker had gone two for his last 17 at the plate, including 10 strikeouts against Boston College in last weekend’s series. After being placed in the leadoff role last night for the first time since the series opener against the Eagles, Parker knocked his 12th home run of the season and went 3-for-4 with two RBIs last night.
“Everybody goes through a tough stretch at some point,” O’Connor said. “I think Jarrett had his; he figured out what he needed to do to get through it, and now he’s back.”
Following Gosselin’s home run in the fifth, O’Connor removed Roberts and sent out sophomore pitcher Tyler Wilson to start the sixth. Wilson, continuing his excellent play in recent games, allowed no base runners on just 21 pitches during two innings. In his last three outings, Wilson has allowed just one run and three hits in eight innings of work.
“[Wilson] has pitched in so many big games for us when he’s stepped up for his team,” O’Connor said. “I think he’s pitching really good baseball, and it’s been a real shot in the arm for us.”
The Cavaliers then exploded for a five-run seventh, taking advantage of two Hoya errors in the inning to seal the game.
This weekend, the Cavaliers have their first home ACC series since April 5 against N.C. State. The upcoming series is the third to last for Virginia, as it hosts Duke the following weekend and finishes the season on the road against Virginia Tech.
Notes
Freshman Steven Proscia had a two-run single in the eighth, giving him seven RBIs in the two midweek games this week. Against Virginia Commonwealth Tuesday, Proscia knocked a grand slam for his fifth home run of the season ... The Cavaliers now have 38 home runs this season; the previous season high for Virginia during O’Connor’s tenure was 35 in 2005 ... Freshmen pitchers Sean Lucas and Justin Thompson each threw an inning to finish the game for Virginia. Neither allowed a hit, though Lucas walked two batters and Thompson walked one ... Hunt went 3-for-4 on the evening. His only other game of three or more hits was Feb. 28, 2008, when he had four hits in a 27-1 victory against Coppin State ... The Cavaliers have tallied at least nine hits in each of their last seven games.
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