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Virginia sweeps NC State, improves to 22-2

No. 13 Cavaliers dominate No. 18 NC State for impressive series win

As junior reliever Kyle Crockett slammed the door shut on No. 18 NC State in the bottom of the ninth inning Sunday, he added one final shining moment to a statement weekend for the No. 13 Virginia baseball team. Behind dominating pitching and timely hitting, the young Cavaliers put together an impressive sweep of the Wolfpack at Davenport Field and have staked a strong claim as one of the top 10 teams in the nation.

Weather forced the Cavaliers (22-2, 7-2 ACC) into a whirlwind two-day stretch, with three games taking place within just over 24 hours. Virginia did not show any fatigue, however, taking Saturday’s double-header with 8-2 and 4-3 wins and completing the sweep with a 6-3 victory Sunday.

“I thought it was a great weekend for us, obviously,” coach Brian O’Connor said. “Any time you can win three games in this league — especially against a high-quality opponent like NC State — it’s a big step forward for us, obviously. There’s a lot of baseball left in this season … but certainly this weekend, I think our guys showed something with winning all three games.”

In Saturday’s first game Virginia was matched up against NC State (16-9, 3-6 ACC) ace sophomore Carlos Rodon, the reigning ACC Pitcher of the Year. The Cavaliers were held scoreless through the first five frames, but freshman lefty Brandon Waddell nearly matched Rodon by surrendering just one run in his first five innings to keep the contest close.

Virginia’s plan of attack was to be patient at the plate, and it helped in the battle against Rodon, who gave up six walks and threw more than 120 pitches. Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth, the Cavaliers picked up two early walks and capitalized, bringing two runs across the plate to tie the game. Once Rodon left the game in the sixth, Virginia was able to handle the NC State relievers, breaking through with six runs in the final two innings to seal the 8-2 win.

“I think a sign of a good offensive club is when you do capitalize on those opportunities,” O’Connor said. “In this league, when you do get those opportunities, you’ve got to capitalize on them, because the pitching’s so good in this league, you just don’t know when it’s going to come back again.”

In the second game Saturday, the Cavaliers continued to roll behind strong performances from their pitching staff. Redshirt senior lefty Scott Silverstein kept the Wolfpack scoreless in the first four innings of the game and gave Virginia the chance to build an early 3-0 lead. NC State picked up a run in the fifth, but Virginia responded immediately as sophomore center fielder Brandon Downes launched a home run to right field to extend the lead to 4-1.

The Wolfpack added two runs in the top of the fifth, but it was not enough to rattle the Virginia pitchers, who held on for the 4-3 win. The Cavalier staff did not surrender a walk in 18 innings Saturday, a pitching performance that made it hard for NC State to gain momentum offensively.

“It’s hard to believe that in this league, against a talented club like NC State, that our club can go out and have 18 innings and no walks, but that’s just the mentality that they take,” O’Connor said. “[Pitching coach Karl] Kuhn is as good as anybody out there at preparing our guys to go after hitters and executing a game plan… Anything NC State got, they had to earn today.”

Virginia was able to complete the sweep Sunday behind sophomore Nick Howard, who got the start in a game that was moved up from Monday due to inclement weather. NC State struck first, driving a run across in the top of the first inning, but Howard allowed just one more run in the fourth to keep the score close at 2-0.

Sparked by a pair of walks to begin the bottom of the fourth inning, the Cavaliers were able to push across three runs and build a one-run lead. Freshman Josh Sborz performed well in relief, tossing three scoreless innings, and Virginia added three more runs in the sixth to cruise to the win. NC State looked as though it might threaten in the ninth as they picked up a run to bring it to 6-3, but Crockett killed the threat to end the game.

“We’ve had trouble with [NC State] in my career here,” senior second baseman Reed Gragnani said. “They’ve always played us tough. … It was a big, big series sweep for us. We knew, even in the last inning there, they weren’t going to go away.”

NC State has not been swept in an ACC series since 2011, and the three wins propel Virginia to an impressive 22-2 record. The dominant stretch has begun to draw comparisons to the famed 2011 team that made a run to Omaha, and some of the older players see the similarities.

“I see a lot of resemblance,” Gragnani said. “We had a lot of adversity that we overcame at the beginning of the year, and the makeup of the team is the same. We’ve got the same confidence, the same swagger, but each team is different in its own way.”

Virginia will look to continue its sparkling run when it hosts Towson this Wednesday.

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