Coming into its series against ACC foe Georgia Tech, the Virginia baseball team knew it was hosting serious competition. Inclement weather and the Yellow Jackets' nine-run fourth inning proved to be too much for the Cavaliers to overcome Sunday afternoon, causing them to drop their second game in a row, 13-9.
Georgia Tech (23-7, 6-3 ACC) arrived Friday ranked No. 3 in the nation, but Virginia (17-12, 5-7), behind senior left-hander Brandon Creswell's complete game three-hitter, upset the Yellow Jackets, 3-1. The baseball gods refused to smile upon the Cavaliers on Saturday afternoon, as Georgia Tech pulled out to an early lead before taking the win, 10-3. Sunday's contest was the rubber match for the series.
"You feel good, especially coming into the third game, thinking you can beat them," Virginia senior catcher Mark Rueffert said. "I think everybody had that attitude. There is no way Georgia Tech is that much better than we are, [and] I think everybody felt good about our chances of winning."
Despite the best efforts of the ground crew, steady rains quickly turned the U.Va. Baseball Field into a swamp. Virginia, beset by recent injuries to the pitching staff, started freshman right-hander Cannon Hickman on the mound. Demonstrating good control early, Hickman gave up only an opposite-field hit in the first inning.
Georgia Tech opened the scoring in the top of the second. Following a one out walk and a single, Brad Stockton doubled to right-center, driving in two Yellow Jacket runs.
The bottom of the inning saw the Cavaliers pull back even, scoring two runs, with Rueffert scoring on Chris Sweet's single to left field and Robert Word coming in after a bases-loaded walk to David Stone.
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Following a 1-2-3 inning by Hickman, the Cavaliers took their only lead of the game in the bottom of the third, courtesy of Georgia Tech's defensive miscues. Shortstop Hunter Wyant reached first on a bunt, then stole second before scoring on a throwing error.
The Yellow Jackets stormed back to put the game out of reach in the top of the fourth, as Hickman seemed to run out of gas. A controversial "fair ball" call by the first base umpire opened the door for Georgia Tech, and by the end of the inning, it had produced nine runs on eight hits, a walk and a hit batter to take a definitive edge.
Despite facing a new Virginia pitcher, Jeff Kamrath, Georgia Tech added to its lead in the fifth inning. Following a one-out walk to Matthew Boggs, Richard Lewis tripled to left, driving in Boggs. Lewis later scored on a single by Victor Menocal, and after five innings the Yellow Jackets held a 13-3 lead.
The Cavaliers refused to call it a day, and after Ty Collins held the visitors scoreless in the top of the six, Virginia posted its own big inning, scoring six runs to pull within four. Despite striking out, Sweet reached first after a passed ball. Doug Vroman followed with a double, scoring Sweet, and the Cavalier rally had begun.
Following a Georgia Tech pitching change, Robert Newton reached base on a fielder's choice, driving in Vroman. After a walk to Jon Benick, Wyant singled through the right side, scoring Newton for the sixth Virginia run.
Word's single through the right side scored the seventh and eighth runs, and Rueffert, with his second run of the day, ended the scoring by tagging from third on Eric Christensen's sacrifice fly. Entering the seventh inning, the Cavaliers trailed, 13-9.
"All of the sudden, we look up," Virginia coach Dennis Womack said. "I think we felt that we were at least back in the game - this wasn't one of those things when you just play out the string. We were going to get back in the game. We had some good things that happened in that inning."
The final three innings were all pitching. Georgia Tech's Andy Mitchell squelched the Cavalier rally and picked up the save, with five strikeouts and perfect seventh, eighth and ninth innings. Virginia's Alan Zimmerer held the Yellow Jackets scoreless as well, scattering four hits and a walk over the last three innings.
The defensive play of the game, by Cavalier right fielder Chris Sweet, came in the top of ninth with one out and runners on second and third. Georgia Tech's Boggs tagged following Bryan Prince's fly out to right, only to be gunned down at the plate by Sweet's bullet.
Despite the soggy loss, Virginia coach Womack looked on the game in a favorable light.
"I thought that we competed," Womack said. "I thought we did some good things. But I also thought at times that we did some things that in order for us to move to the next step, [we'll need] maybe just a little tougher approach - especially when the conditions are not so good."
Dropping the weekend series to the Yellow Jackets, the Cavaliers finish their longest home stand of the year with a 7-5 record and look to get back on the right track Tuesday afternoon at Richmond.
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