Virginia rolled to a 9-1 victory in their first game against Marist Friday. Junior Nathan Kirby (2-0, 0.73 ERA) started the game on the hill and pitched 5.1 innings of one-run ball while striking out nine.
The Cavaliers sprinted out of the blocks and never looked back. Virginia scored three runs in the bottom of the first, and the first four batters reached base.
The team tacked on two more runs in the second inning on a two-out single by freshman first baseman Pavin Smith. The Jupiter, Fla. native also notched his first career home run in the sixth.
Freshmen Derek Casey and Bennett Sousa combined to keep the Red Foxes’ (0-3) bats silent. The duo allowed only four hits in 2.2 innings to close out the game.
Virginia’s offense continued to run on all cylinders Saturday, cruising to an 8-3 win over La Salle and topping Marist 7-2.
Once again, freshmen had a big day at the plate. Both Ernie Clement and Smith collected four hits over the course of the day, and each jacked a solo homer.
Sophomore Connor Jones (2-0, 0.00) surrendered two unearned runs over five innings en route to a victory over the Explorers (4-3). Junior Kevin Doherty pitched two clean innings to earn the save.
The Cavaliers scored five runs in the seventh inning to pull away from Marist Saturday night. Virginia entered the inning with a 2-1 and sent 11 batters to the plate. Sophomore Matt Thaiss drove in two of those runs on a wall-ball double that nearly left the park.
The Red Foxes and Cavaliers required 18 innings to decide the winner in Sunday’s finale — the longest game in program history. Freshman Christian Lowry drove home Thaiss with a walk-off single into left-centerfield.
Virginia’s pitching staff shut down the Marist bats after the seventh inning. Junior Josh Sborz and Doherty both threw five innings of two-hit ball, and Sousa threw one inning to pick up the win.
The Cavaliers now return home for a Tuesday afternoon contest with George Washington. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
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