The Virginia baseball team came up short in its bid for a late inning comeback after falling behind 4-0 en route to a 4-3 loss last night to George Mason. Freshman starter Matt Avery (1-4) was credited with the loss after giving up four runs and eight hits in 5.0 innings.
After kick-starting the season with an amazing stretch at home -- the Cavaliers (23-16) won their first 16 games -- Virginia has struggled at Davenport Field, losing five of their last seven. They took the final games in both the Miami and NC State series after losing the first two in both, twice avoiding a sweep against two heavily favored opponents.
Virginia and George Mason (24-12) entered the game with nearly identical records and sent two pitchers to the mound with a total of five starts between them on the year. Redshirt senior Travis Hardman won the duel with Avery, going 8.0 innings allowing eight hits and two runs. The lefthander was taken out following an eighth inning in which he allowed a two-run home run to Virginia sophomore shortstop Mark Reynolds.
The shot by Reynolds came about a foot away from hitting the extended fence in center field that has been dubbed the "Blue Monster," clearing the left-center wall easily. Reynolds already inked his name into Virginia baseball folklore in an early-season game against Charlotte by clearing the Monster, and as the ball sailed through the air it appeared as if the very novelty that brought him recognition would cost him his team-leading seventh home run.
The turning point in the game came in the fourth inning, when Avery seemingly was in control after striking out two consecutive Patriot batters following a leadoff double by DH Jay Ciraco. A walk to the ninth batter, Matt Cooksey, was followed by shortstop Jeff Palumbo being hit by a pitch, and suddenly Avery found himself mired in a bases-loaded jam with two men down. Left fielder Evan Howard connected on an Avery pitch for a bases-clearing double off the left field wall, giving George Mason a 3-0 advantage.
The Patriots struck again the next inning when junior third baseman Nick Shimer launched a solo shot over the right-centerfield fence to give his team what would prove to be the deciding run in the game.
Virginia rallied in the ninth, with an RBI double from little-used senior catcher Andrew Riesenfeld that scored junior Paul Gillispie to close the gap to one. Sophomore Ty Grisham came in to pinch run for the catcher but ended the game without moving as Kyle Werman and Matt Street both struck out with the tying run in scoring position.
With two of Virginia's top starters, Jeff Kamrath and Mike Ballard, out with injuries, Womack has been forced to be creative with his lineup cards. Throwing the freshman Avery into the fire so soon was not the coach's intention going into the season, but he has been forced to roll with the punches following the recent setbacks.
"I think you learn from everything you do," Womack said of his pitcher. "Hopefully he'll learn and improve and hopefully quickly."
Sophomore Adam Laird will be the latest pitcher used in the starting rotation tomorrow against Virginia Tech. Although spending his entire career as a starter, he has been used solely in relief this season after being plagued by injuries in his rookie campaign.
"I don't think it will be a problem for him" getting back into the feel of starting, junior Joe Koshansky said of the former Bellaire high school star. "He'll probably end up throwing five or six innings, but he'll throw some strong innings for us."
Read More
TILOCK: The real Virginia baseball just stood up
By Xander Tilock | 12 hours agoThe Cavaliers' chronic issues are dwindling, and underperforming stars are ascending.
Dietrich’s comeback clincher sends No. 7 seed men’s tennis to NCAA quarterfinals
By Margaret Piatos | YesterdayFor the 18th time in 20 years, Virginia is headed to the quarterfinals.
Women’s lacrosse drops heartbreaking rematch to Duke, ends NCAA Tournament run
By Eleanor Buchanan | YesterdayVirginia fell in the second round of the tournament for the second time in a row.
