The No. 11 Virginia baseball team lost its second conference series against No. 10 Clemson over the weekend. The Cavaliers (15-5, 2-4 ACC) shut out the Tigers (16-4, 5-1 ACC) Friday, before losing the next two games Saturday and Sunday.
Virginia began the series with sophomore starting pitcher Daniel Lynch on the mound. Lynch was looking to rebound from a rough outing against North Carolina last weekend, in which he gave up eight earned runs. He came out strong Friday and pitched a gem, shutting out the Tigers in 7.2 innings. Lynch gave up four hits and struck out four Tigers, only walking two. Coach Brian O’Connor had high praise for his younger starter.
"Lynch was not happy with his outing last week at North Carolina and he certainly responded. That's by far the best outing of his young career. He was tremendous,” O’Connor said.
Lynch benefitted from solo homers by junior outfielder Pavin Smith — his seventh of the year — in the seventh inning and sophomore outfielder Cameron Simmons in the ninth inning. Smith and Simmons broke the dominance of Clemson’s ace pitcher Charlie Barnes, who struck out seven Cavaliers in 8.1 innings. Sophomore reliever Tommy Doyle locked down the game in the ninth inning, striking out two Tigers to earn his fourth save of the year in a 2-0 victory.
In contrast to Friday’s game, Saturday’s matchup was one for the offenses. Clemson came out firing, dropping six runs on the Cavaliers and chasing sophomore starter Evan Sperling from the game after only 0.2 innings. The call to the bullpen settled the game down for Virginia — the Tigers would only score one more run off the impressive Cavalier bullpen.
“They did a nice job," O’Connor said. “I was proud of all of those guys. They gave us a chance and that's what you would like your bullpen to do."
Virginia opened their scoring with a two-out, two-run homer in the fourth inning off the bat of Simmons. The Cavaliers continued to claw back with a three-run eighth inning, cutting Clemson’s lead to two. Smith hit an RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning, but Virginia’s comeback bid came up short when the Clemson closer retired the next batter. The Cavaliers fell to Clemson, 7-6.
Sunday’s game was also an offensive outburst, but Clemson’s lineup provided all of the firepower, toppling Virginia, 12-1. Following a spectacular performance against North Carolina last weekend, starter Adam Haseley seemed to have less control against the Tigers. The junior gave up four runs on eight hits in four shaky innings. The Cavaliers looked equally unsteady — each gave up a run to make Clemson’s lead insurmountable. Virginia could only muster one run against Clemson’s senior starter Pat Krall, who struck out four Cavaliers in seven innings of work.
Virginia was inconsistent at the plate for a second straight weekend, while its starting pitching tailed off after Friday. The Tigers outscored the Cavaliers 19-7 in the final two games.
Virginia will return home for five straight games at Davenport Field as they look to get back on track. The team has two games against Towson Tuesday and Wednesday before a three game set against Duke next weekend.
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