When junior pitcher Scott Silverstein arrived at Davenport Field yesterday afternoon, he saw that he was slated to start at pitcher for the first time in his career at Virginia.
"I felt like I put in a lot of work, so I was happy to see [my name], and I'm thankful that I have that opportunity," Silverstein said. "Two operations in three years, and [I was] finally back out there. I couldn't be happier about it."
Silverstein, who underwent shoulder surgery between his high school and freshman season and again a year later, tossed three innings of shutout, one-hit ball last night as his squad went on to beat Richmond 12-1.
"It was a special moment the first time he went out there to pitch [earlier this season], but to actually see him start a game was awesome, because I know he's been through a lot," junior pitcher Danny Hultzen said.
But two batters into Silverstein's "special moment," play halted as Richmond's freshman shortstop, Mike Small, injured his leg sliding into second base. During a chilling delay, Small laid on the field writhing in pain; his injury required an ambulance to drive onto the field and escort him to the hospital.
"My thoughts and our program's thoughts are obviously with Mike Small right now," coach Brian O'Connor said. "You never want to see anything like that happen to someone on the baseball field."\nSmall dislocated his ankle and fractured his fibula, but was discharged from the hospital late last night. His departure from the game proved detrimental to the Spiders, however, as Richmond was forced to shift its defensive lineup around - including junior outfielder Robby Massar's costly move from left to center field. Massar's defensive struggles ultimately helped spark the Cavaliers' seven-run third inning.
Senior left fielder David Coleman opened the frame with a double down the left field line before sophomore right fielder Colin Harrington split the right-center gap for an RBI-triple. Shortly thereafter, sophomore center fielder Reed Gragnani drove in Harrington. The next two Cavalier batters registered back-to-back singles following Gragnani's RBI to load the bases for Hultzen, who was serving as the team's designated hitter for the contest.
Hultzen lined the ball to center field for a seemingly playable out, but Massar slipped as he backpedaled to catch it. As Massar tried to regroup, Hultzen blazed around the bases to eventually cross home plate. Massar never touched the ball - so he could not be charged for the error - thus giving Hultzen a rare inside-the-park grand slam.
"That's the first time I've ever seen that happen," junior catcher John Hicks said. "When you hit a ball like that, you might think the center fielder would catch it and be kind of bummed, but Danny stayed at it, and when he saw the ball over the pitcher's head, he was off."
Before their breakout inning, the Cavaliers had fallen quietly in the first two frames - a common theme for the team this season. But as the lineup faced senior starter Billy Barber for a second go-around, the team made the necessary adjustments.
"It's a whole lot easier after you've seen a guy ... and what kind of stuff he has," Hicks said. "I'm sure we'd love to get off to a fast start every game, but we do a great job of staying in it, and getting some runs."
Richmond, meanwhile, barely had a chance to figure out the Cavaliers' pitching staff. After Silverstein tossed his three shutout frames, sophomore Whit Mayberry followed with three shutout innings of his own. Freshman Kyle Crockett and junior Justin Thompson each added a scoreless inning. The Spiders scored once against sophomore reliever Branden Kline in the ninth, but that run proved meaningless as the Cavaliers had compiled enough runs of their own.
The team plated one in the fourth and three in the fifth as Massar's defensive miscues continued to haunt the Spiders. With runners on first and second, Coleman smoked an RBI-single to center field. Massar bobbled the ball, allowing Coleman to take second. Two batters later, sophomore shortstop Chris Taylor blooped a single in front of the center fielder to drive in Coleman.
Junior pitcher Shane Halley drilled a home run during the seventh. And while Hultzen's grand slam may have been misplayed, Halley's bomb was definitely out of the park. His drive gave a midweek record 3,128 fans plenty to cheer about, as the nation's No. 1 team again lived up to its hype.
"To have a crowd like we had tonight I think really says something about our program and where we're at," O'Connor said. "The fact that over 3,000 people would come out here on a Wednesday night is very exciting for us."
The Cavaliers next square off against N.C. State for a three-game home series slated to begin Friday evening.
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