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No. 12 baseball takes two of three at Virginia Tech

<p>Junior outfielder&nbsp;Adam Haseley hit a home run in Virginia's 3-2 win over Virginia Tech.</p>

Junior outfielder Adam Haseley hit a home run in Virginia's 3-2 win over Virginia Tech.

The No. 12 Virginia baseball team won its second-straight ACC series at Virginia Tech this past weekend. The Cavaliers (29-9, 10-8 ACC) took the first two games before dropping the series finale to the Hokies (19-19, 7-11 ACC) Saturday.

The first game of the series was an unexpected slugfest that ended in a narrow 10-9 victory for the Cavaliers. The team jumped out to an early lead, spearheaded by a two-run homer by sophomore outfielder Cameron Simmons — his second in as many games — in the second inning, followed by a five-run third frame. The Cavalier bats gave junior starter Derek Casey a solid advantage early on, but the righty ace was uncharacteristically erratic Thursday — allowing four runs and four walks in 3.2 innings.

Virginia led 9-5 after seven innings, but the Hokies stormed back with four runs in the eighth against senior reliever Alec Bettinger — who struggled for one of the first times this season. Sophomore closer Tommy Doyle baled out his teammates by narrowly closing out the Hokies in the ninth inning with two runners on base to secure the win.

Friday’s affair was much more of a battle from the mound. Freshman pitcher Noah Murdock started for Virginia and pitched the best outing of his young career — firing seven shutout innings with no walks. The Cavaliers held a 2-0 lead at Murdock’s departure, but Virginia Tech tied the game shortly after against sophomore reliever Chesdin Harrington.

Both teams threatened ninth but went quietly, leading to the first extra-innings game of the season for the Cavaliers. The stalemate didn’t last long, though, as junior outfielder Adam Haseley put Virginia on top with a solo blast in the tenth inning — his team-leading eleventh of the year. Doyle held the lead in the bottom of the frame, earning his second save in as many days as Virginia took a 3-2 victory.

With Haseley on the mound Saturday, Virginia went for its second-straight ACC series sweep. The junior allowed one run in the first inning but settled down nicely afterwards, not allowing another earned run and striking out nine in six innings. Sophomore third baseman Nate Eikhoff tied things up with his first homer of the season in the second, and Virginia built a 4-1 lead from there.

For the third game in the row, however, the Hokies stormed back. The team put up five runs in the seventh inning to take a 7-5 lead, punctuated by a three-run homer off the bat of senior outfielder Mac Caples. Virginia could not mount a comeback against the Hokie bullpen and fell 7-5 — snapping the Cavaliers’ eight-game winning streak.

Virginia returns to action with midweek tilts against Longwood and James Madison at Davenport Field. The Cavaliers will then get a visit from ACC foe Notre Dame for a series next weekend. 

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