The moon was nearly full and the sky was mostly dark as the Virginia baseball team tried to squint its way to victory against Old Dominion in yesterday's home opener. But neither team could finish off the win, and the umpire was forced to call the game after eight innings with the score tied at 14-14.
"It's frustrating," Cavalier left fielder David Stone said. "We had a lot of chances to put the game away, but we just kept getting put back into it."
The Monarchs (2-2-1) almost sewed up the game with the darkness thickening in the bottom of the eighth. Working with a two-run lead, ODU right-hander Kevin Evans struck out the first two Virginia batters but walked the next three to load the bases.
The next batter, Cav co-captain Tim LaVigne, smacked a single to center to score Luis Giraldo and Robbie Marvin and bring in the tying runs for Virginia (0-3-1).
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"When I was pitching I couldn't see the catcher's signals," LaVigne said. "I knew when I got up to the plate it was going to be tough. I was just trying to get the ball in the air, because I knew if I could barely see it at the plate they would have trouble seeing it once it got into the air."
When Cavalier third year Hunter Wyant grounded out to end the inning, the field was too dark for the game to continue.
"It was a strange game, but it's kind of poetic that neither team lost," Virginia Coach Dennis Womack said. "Both teams played hard and neither team quit, and there's something to be said for that."
At the end of the fourth inning, the Cavaliers held a promising 5-1 lead over the Monarchs, but ODU fought back to bring in five batters in the top of the fifth, launching a scoring spree that both teams would take into double digits. Sophomore first baseman Jared Musolf cracked a hit to center field to cap the rally, driving in three and giving Old Dominion its first lead of the evening.
The Cavs answered the Monarch scoring binge with one of their own, scoring four runs off of three hits in the bottom of the fifth to once again take the lead at 9-6.
ODU launched its comeback early in the sixth, loading the bases with no outs. The Cavs fought back to retire the next two hitters, but Monarch freshman Brent Sollenberger sent a two-out shot over the center fence for a grand slam that pushed Old Dominion in front again.
In the bottom of the seventh, LaVigne plated two with a drive to left, and Wyant brought in Stone with a hit of his own.
The Monarchs took advantage of their eighth inning at bat to score four more runs, and with the sky ominously black, it was up to the Cavaliers to work some offensive magic.
"Both teams were trying to find someone to get out there and stop the other team, but everyone was having trouble," Womack said.
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