Heading to the bottom of the eighth inning last night, the record home-opening crowd of 2,175 Virginia fans faced the danger of being disappointed as the No. 15 Cavaliers trailed Virginia Military Institute 3-2.
Then sophomore shortstop Stephen Bruno stepped to the plate and laced a two-out RBI-single through the left side. Senior centerfielder John Barr followed by splitting the right-center gap with the go-ahead double to give Virginia a 4-3 lead it would not relinquish.
"You've got to look forward to opportunities like that; that's why you play," Barr said. "You've got to want to be up in the clutch and come through for your team."
Barr's and Bruno's hits finally gave life to a sleeping Cavalier batting order. Keydet sophomore pitcher Coby Cowgill kept the Virginia lineup hitless until the fourth inning, and limited the team to just one run through his first six frames.
"Give a lot of credit to their starting pitcher," sophomore pitcher Branden Kline said. "He really brought it today, and kept the bats on our side cold."
VMI (0-4), meanwhile, warmed up early. Senior shortstop Sam Roberts led off the game with a single, and then came around to score on junior third basemen Chase Worthington's sharp grounder through the gap. Senior catcher Alex Haitsuka drilled a homer to left field during the fourth inning, and then doubled to open the sixth.
Following Haitsuka's double, sophomore pitcher Whit Mayberry relieved junior pitcher Will Roberts on the mound. Mayberry allowed his inherited runner to score, but then settled in to throw 2.2 shutout innings.
"Whit Mayberry really came in and threw the ball great," coach Brian O'Connor said. "He's the one that gave us a chance to win. He didn't let the ball game get out of hand or let them tack on any more runs."
Mayberry bought time for the Cavaliers (4-0) to coax Cowgill out of the game. Virginia loaded the bases with one away in the fifth, but junior second basemen Keith Werman grounded into a double play. With the team threatening again in the seventh, VMI yanked Cowgill in favor of sophomore reliever John Garrett. Garrett gave up a two-out RBI-double to sophomore right fielder Chris Taylor, pulling Virginia within one.
After junior third basemen Steven Proscia led off the eighth with a walk, O'Connor elected for his four-hole hitter, junior pitcher Danny Hultzen, to sacrifice bunt.
"It was the opportunity to advance the tying run into scoring position, as the home team you have to do that," O'Connor said of the decision. "You're not going to do it all the time, [you do] if you have a chance to tie the ball game in a game where runs are at a premium."
The move ultimately paid dividends for Virginia, as Proscia scored on Bruno's single. Once Barr's double gave the Cavaliers the lead, O'Connor called on Kline to seal the team's 4-3 win.
"Branden Kline's pitched twice, he's got two saves ... he's been throwing strikes," O'Connor said. "Obviously his stuff is very good and he's talented, but he's out there, he's got competitive fire to him, which I love to see, and he's challenging the hitters."
After losing pitcher Kevin Arico, the nation's leader in saves last season, to professional baseball, Klines' dominance gives the team faith in its closer role moving forward. And although the season is early, a comeback win bodes well for Cavaliers in future matchups.
"It's always great for momentum when you compete and come back and have an exciting victory like that," Barr said. "Over the course of the year you're going to find yourself up against the wall, and I really think the way our club battled back, it's a great sign"
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