Joe Koshansky continued his hard hitting ways Thursday with his third homer of the early season. The senior first baseman's latest homerun came in yesterday's 15-2 trouncing of the Maryland-Eastern Shore Shorehawks (0-3, 0-0 MEAC).
The Cavalier (4-0, 0-0 ACC) hitters came out of the gate fast with a seven run first inning, a scoring binge initiated by sophomore third baseman Ryan Zimmerman's (3-for-4, 2 runs, 1 RBI) base hit to right that scored junior shortstop Mark Reynolds. Scott Headd, the junior catcher, followed up that single two batters later with a two run double to right center field.
Four batters later, senior right fielder Matt Street matched Headd's double with one of his own, bringing in two more Cavaliers. The scoring did not stop there for Virginia, especially in the three run second, when Koshansky muscled a curveball out of the park.
"Instead of knocking it out to center, he drove the ball hard, trying to get the double to left-center," Virginia coach Brian O'Connor said. "But, he had enough power to drive the ball out."
Sophomore right hander Matt Avery put in a solid performance on the mound for the Cavaliers, registering five innings and giving up just four hits and two runs. Holding the opposing lineup to just two runs is much easier for a team when its offense delivers a seven run lead after the first inning.
"Whenever you get seven runs, that really gives you a lot of confidence," Avery said.
The game was O'Connor's first home game as head coach of the Cavaliers, but was scheduled just yesterday when the UNC-Greensboro matchup was canceled because of poor weather. O'Connor thought it was important to get a game in this week before playing Penn State at home despite the Greensboro cancellation, and the win made for a memorable start to his career at Davenport Field.
"Any time you get the first win at home, you're always going to remember that," O'Connor said. "But I do look forward to getting that first ACC win here, beating one of these really good conference teams at home."
As strong as the game was offensively for the Cavaliers, it was just as tough for the Shore Hawks, especially junior pitcher Dereck Casper who pitched just 1.1 innings and gave up 10 runs on six hits. The lone bright spot in the UMES lineup was junior right fielder Anthony Jackson, who went 2-4 and put himself in position to score the only two runs in the game with a triple and a double.
Koshansky's strong opening has been a huge part of the team's 4-0 start. He already has one third of his team leading homerun total from last year (9). As a team captain, this performance is especially important.
"He is not a guy who is going to be really vocal in the locker room," O'Connor said. "He leads by example and by what he does on the field."
If Koshansky and the hot-hitting Cavaliers (averaging 11.5 runs a game) can keep the runs coming in this weekend's two games against Penn State, Virginia could continue their early season streak. For now, however, the Cavs can savor a successful home opener and a promising start to the year.
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