The Cavaliers proved there is a light at the end of the tunnel yesterday afternoon at the U.Va. Baseball Field.
Virginia (18-18) ended an eight-game losing streak with a 7-4 victory against Virginia Tech (16-17). The victory was especially sweet because it came against Virginia's rivals from Blacksburg.
"It's great to get a win," Cavalier shortstop Hunter Wyant said. "After losing eight straight it's even better. This rivalry with Virginia Tech is a little more personal for me since there are a few guys on the team that I've been playing against since high school."
The Cavaliers broke the game open with a three-run fourth inning. With the Cavaliers up 1-0, Virginia center fielder Shawn McCleary singled into left field, which scored catcher Mark Rueffert from third. Designated hitter Kallem McCoy then knocked Hokie starting pitcher Josh Biber (0-1) out of the game with a single to right, which scored Cavalier first baseman Robert Wood. After a wild pitch and a walk, right fielder Chris Sweet singled down the right filed line, which brought McCleary home for a 4-0 Virginia lead. Sweet finished the afternoon 3-5 with one RBI and two runs scored.
The Hokies gave the Cavaliers a scare in the top of the eighth inning against Cavalier reliever Jeff Kammrath. Hokie center fielder Brad Bauder doubled to left, which scored Spencer Harris. Later in the inning, designated hitter Jed English drove in two runs with a single up the middle. The Hokies added one more unanswered run off a wild pitch to make the score 7-4.
All of this proved too little, too late as Virginia junior Chris Marinak came in to pitch the final 1 1/3 innings of the game. He gave up one hit and struck out two while giving up no runs to earn his second save of the season.
"It was great for us to get this win and end our skid," Womack said. "We threw the ball pretty well all day and played pretty sound defense."
Cavalier pitcher Brandon Creswell (5-2) pitched five scoreless innings for the win. He scattered four singles, struck out four, and did not issue a single walk.
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Virginia's victory did come with a loss, however. In the top of the second inning, Cavalier catcher Mark Rueffert threw out Hokie cleanup hitter Addison Bowman at second base. While sliding into the bag at second, Bowman collided with Cavalier second baseman Eric Christensen and injured Christensen's leg. The extent of Christensen's injury is not yet known, but all indications are that it is quite serious.
"Right now it looks like he has a dislocation, maybe a fracture," Womack said. "We saw that his leg must have gotten caught wrong. You could tell just by looking at it that he was hurt pretty badly. With Christensen hurt, we're not going to have as much depth, so some guys definitely have to step up."
After sending down the Hokies 1-2-3 in the top of the first, the Cavaliers got off to a great start when Sweet doubled to left. Wyant then smacked a single to centerfield and scored Sweet. Wyant, who leads the Cavaliers in batting average (.392), hits (60), slugging percentage (.621), runs scored (36) and total bases (95), went 3-for-5 with two RBIs on the day.
Virginia added another run in the bottom of the fifth off a single by second baseman Robert Newton that scored cleanup hitter Dan Street. Virginia notched its seventh run in the bottom of the seventh as Street singled to left, which brought Sweet home.
Virginia hopes to extend its success later this week against North Carolina. The Cavaliers will face off in a three-game ACC series with the Tar Heels this Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Chapel Hill.
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