No. 14 Virginia baseball took all three games from Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. The trio of wins return the Cavaliers (18-8, 6-6 ACC) to .500 in conference.
Thirteen hits and masterful pitching from junior Nathan Kirby propelled Virginia to a 9-1 victory in Saturday’s series opener.
Kirby threw six shutout innings to earn his fourth win of the season. The lefty allowed five hits and two walks in addition to striking out eight batters.
Sophomore shortstop Daniel Pinero catalyzed the Cavalier offense. He went 3-3, scored four runs and reached base safely in all five plate appearances.
Virginia opened up the contest in the seventh inning. Freshman Adam Haseley hit his first career home run — a solo shot — while senior Kenny Towns drove home two with a double. Towns collected three RBI in game one.
The Fighting Irish (16-9, 3-8 ACC) scored their only run in the seventh on a triple by junior Ricky Sanchez, followed by a sacrifice fly.
Saturday’s nightcap would be a tighter affair as the Cavaliers broke a 2-2 deadlock in the top of the ninth to win 4-2. It was Virginia’s first sweep of an ACC road doubleheader since April 17, 2012.
Sophomore Connor Jones worked 7 2/3 innings and fanned nine Notre Dame batters, which marked a career high in both innings pitched and strikeouts. He allowed two runs on five hits and two walks.
Virginia scored twice in the third inning. Junior Kevin Doherty singled home sophomore Matt Thaiss and freshman Pavin Smith came home on a single by junior Robbie Coman.
Freshman Christian Lowry came through in the clutch yet again for the Cavaliers. With two outs in the ninth, the Chesapeake, Virginia native drove home Doherty on a right-field single. Lowry would score on a double by Haseley.
Virginia survived the elements to down the Fighting Irish 5-4 in the series finale.
Junior Brandon Waddell started, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks, striking out three.
The Cavaliers methodically built their lead and scored one run in every inning from the third to the seventh to go ahead 5-3.
Notre Dame closed the gap in the bottom of the ninth. Facing junior Josh Sborz, junior Lane Richards led off the frame with a homer. But Sborz settled down, striking out the side to earn his second save of the series.
Haseley collected three hits in Sunday’s game. The outfielder had seven hits in the series and reached base safely 10 times. Haseley has 10 hits in Virginia’s last four games.
The Cavaliers have five games ahead of them in the coming week. They will play VCU at the Diamond Tuesday night before returning home to make up the VMI game Wednesday. Virginia will also welcome ACC-leading and seventh-ranked Louisville to Davenport Field for a weekend series with massive conference implications.
—compiled by Matthew Wurzburger
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