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Hultzen leads Cavs to series win

Sophomore pitches lights-out against Rhode Island as Cavaliers sweep series

The No. 1 Virginia baseball team continued to roll along this weekend, sweeping Rhode Island in its first three-game series at Davenport Field. The Cavaliers outscored the Rams 43-7 during the series.

Although many Cavaliers gave outstanding offensive performances, junior Phil Gosselin - who played at second base Friday and left field Saturday and Sunday - stood out, going 6-for-12 with six RBIs and one home run during the series.

The Cavaliers (6-1) cruised through game one Friday, crushing the Rams (0-6) 13-0 behind hot hitting and a dominant pitching performance by sophomore Danny Hultzen.

After a scoreless first inning against Rhode Island senior Tim Boyce, Virginia notched three runs in the second inning when senior catcher Franco Valdes smacked one off the left-center field wall with the bases loaded. All Cavalier base runners scored, and Valdes - though not known for his speed - legged out a triple.

Virginia struck again in the third when junior right fielder Dan Grovatt led off with a single, and sophomore third baseman Steven Proscia knocked another triple - also to left-center field - to send Grovatt home. Junior center fielder Jarrett Parker then hit a single to drive in Proscia.

"We really swung the bats well against a good pitcher," Virginia coach Brian O'Connor said. "[Boyce] was their top returner from last year. He made a lot of starts for them, pitched in a lot of big ball games and fortunately we were able to be aggressive against him and take advantage of our opportunities."

Virginia kept up the onslaught for most of the game, scoring in six different innings. During the fourth, Gosselin made it 6-0 with a solo home run - his second of the year - over the left field wall.\n"[Boyce] threw me a fastball down and in, and I just dropped the barrel on it and luckily I put a pretty good swing on it," Gosselin said, adding that the wind may have contributed to the drive.

Virginia added four more runs in the sixth and three in the eighth to finish off the Rams. Every Virginia starter tallied at least one hit, and the team collected 15 overall.

Danny Hultzen, who hit a double and notched two RBIs in the sixth, was at the top of his game on the mound Friday after struggling at the beginning of his first start of the year against East Carolina. The sophomore, who moved to 2-0 on the year, gave up only two hits while striking out 12, and earned ACC Pitcher of the Week honors as a result.

"From the start of the game, Danny Hultzen was in control of the ball game," O'Connor said. "He had a really good fastball on a cold day and really just overpowered them early with his fastball. Then towards the middle innings, he started adding the changeup there. When he's got his fastball location and throwing it in the lower 90s - and throwing his changeup for strikes - he's gonna be tough to hit."

Several backups saw valuable time on the field in the later innings of the blowout victory. Freshman shortstop Stephen Bruno, freshman infielder Reed Gragnani and freshman infielder Chris Taylor all entered the lineup during the game.

"I've got a lot of confidence in those young players," O'Connor said. "They could easily be starters for us, but in the given situation, you give them opportunities when they present themselves."

Redshirt freshman Chad O'Connor came on the mound in relief of Hultzen during the eighth and preserved the shutout for the Cavaliers.

"Chad's one of my best friends - I actually roomed with him - so it felt good to see him out there," Hultzen said. "Last year was kind of rough, but over the summer, he worked really hard and he worked really hard in the fall ... He did really great."

Saturday, Virginia's pitching was not as dominant, but a blistering offensive performance carried the easy win. The Cavaliers racked up an O'Connor-era record 26 hits while rolling to a 22-2 victory. During the fifth inning alone, Virginia tallied eight runs on nine hits, widening the gap 16-1.

Like Friday, the Cavaliers were shut out in the first inning but then scored three in the second to get started. Parker sent a double to the left field wall before scoring when senior shortstop Tyler Cannon hit a double down the left field line. Sophomore first baseman John Hicks then stepped up to the plate and drilled Rhode Island junior starter Ken Graveline's first offering over the left-center field wall for a two-run home run.

In all, Virginia hit three home runs. Proscia clanged another two-run home run off the left-field bleachers in the fourth. During the sixth, Bruno entered the game and the right-handed freshman muscled his first career home run - a grand slam - over the right-center field wall.

"It was amazing - dream come true," Bruno said. "Just stepped up there with the crowd behind me and made the most of my opportunity."

Bruno added to his impressive outing in the eighth, when he turned his first collegiate double play to get the Cavaliers out of the inning.

"It was another dream come true to tell you the truth - first college double play ever turned - it was a great thrill," he said.

Junior starting pitcher Robert Morey (1-1) tossed a solid game after losing his first outing the previous Saturday at East Carolina. Morey went seven innings and gave up two runs on four hits while striking out four.

"I thought [Morey] threw a very good ball game today," O'Connor said. "His command was a lot better than it was last weekend. And hopefully, he continues to improve as we push forward in the coming weeks."

The junior maintained his focus even when pitching with a large lead.

"It made my job easy when the offense gets 26 hits," Morey said. "Some guys can get out of it mentally, but that's what we try to do here is build our mental toughness so that even in [wins] we can still get our work in and compete as well as we can."

Rhode Island finally got on the board in the series in the third inning when sophomore third baseman Dan Haverstick hit a solo home run over the right field wall.

During the third game Sunday, Virginia built an 8-0 lead before the Rams scored three runs in the sixth and two more in the eighth to narrow the gap to 8-5. Junior pitcher Kevin Arico closed the door in the ninth to pick up his third save of the season. Junior Cody Winiarski (1-0), a transfer from Madison Area Technical College in Wisconsin, picked up the win for Virginia, going five innings while allowing three runs on seven hits and striking out seven. Senior Dan Rossignol was saddled with the loss for the Rams.

The Cavaliers continue their nine-game home stand today at 3 p.m. against James Madison. Despite their 0-3 record, the Dukes have proven to be a tough road opponent. They were tied with then-No. 6 UC-Irvine through seven innings until they surrendered a six-run eighth and stuck with then-No. 12 Coastal Carolina in Myrtle Beach in a competitive 11-7 loss.

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