Earlier this month in downtown Richmond, Virginia baseball didn’t live up to expectations. The Cavaliers stranded too many baserunners, nine in total. They failed on a squeeze play that enabled the pitcher to cut down junior shortstop Daniel Pinero at home, and they committed two errors that each led to an unearned run.
Their opponent Virginia Commonwealth too made mistakes but, as coach Brian O’Connor admitted post-game, fought harder and executed better in the batter’s box and on the field. Junior first baseman Darian Carpenter smacked a three-run home run in the fifth en route to the Rams’ 7-5 victory that evening, their first over Virginia since 2003.
Wednesday evening at Davenport Field, the site of a rematch between the two Commonwealth schools, VCU ended another unfortunate streak dating back to 2003. With an 11-to-5 win, the Rams (26-12, 9-3 A-10) swept the season series from Virginia (24-16, 9-9 ACC).
Again, a crooked number in the fifth fueled VCU past the defending national champions. The Rams trailed 4-2 entering the top of that inning. Sophomore reliever Jack Roberts walked two of three batters he faced before O’Connor yanked him in favor of senior lefty Kevin Doherty.
“I thought it was the right spot to bring Kevin Doherty in,” O’Connor said. “Kevin’s been a rock for us all year. We brought him in in those situations time and time again. He’s done a terrific job for us, but he just didn’t do it tonight. He left a lot of pitches up.”
Doherty’s second delivery found the barrel of junior center fielder Logan Farrar’s bat. The baseball sliced into the right center gap, allowing a run to score and two Rams to advance into scoring position.
Taking a few deep breaths, Doherty on one pitch retired the dangerous Carpenter, who had scorched a solo homer into the Hoo Zone two innings prior, for the second out. Everything unraveled after that.
In the middle of intentionally walking junior shortstop Matt Davis, whose leadoff homer in the second had put the Rams on the board, Doherty missed his easy target.
“I guess I overthought it, first time in my career I think doing that,” Doherty said. “I just kind of babied it, and then it came up short.”
The wild pitch enabled VCU’s game-tying run to come across. Three singles followed up the free pass to Davis, plating three more insurance runs. Who else but Carpenter later grooved a 3-0 fastball over the wall in right center for an emphatic two-run dinger. The Rams increased their lead to 9-4 with two outs in the sixth inning.
“The guy’s a strong, powerful hitter,” O’Connor said. “The wind was blowing out… Certainly, the first one was a line drive out of the ballpark. He’s a big, strong kid, and he put a couple of good swings on the ball.”
The rest of the way, Virginia’s bullpen couldn’t put up zeros, and its offense couldn’t string together hits. Despite the end result, the Cavaliers’ midweek wasn’t altogether forgettable.
Virginia defeated a 2015 NCAA Tournament team in Radford 11-3 Tuesday afternoon. Junior catcher Matt Thaiss, sophomore left fielder Charlie Cody and freshman designated hitter Nate Eikhoff combined for seven RBIs and four runs.
As a group, Virginia hitters made the most of favorable situations, leaving only three runners on base and plating all 11 runs on eight hits.
Two of the Cavaliers’ inconsistent arms also found a rhythm Tuesday. Sophomore pitcher Bennett Sousa earned his third win of the season, surrendering three runs (two earned) over 5 innings, and junior Tyler Shambora worked four scoreless frames in relief.
Although O’Connor after the Radford game said he’d scratch freshman pitcher Daniel Lynch from his start Wednesday because of a tweaked back, most assumed a confident Virginia team would return to Davenport the following day against VCU, play inspired baseball and avenge its April 5 defeat. However, the Rams, riding a six-game win streak, outplayed the Cavaliers once more.
“[Bennett and Tyler] did an incredible job yesterday, pounding the zone with strikes and really attacking guys,” Doherty said. “It was really great to see, and we wanted to continue it tonight… It kind of came to a halt quickly, but that’s why we play so many games. We’ve got Friday to worry about now.”
The final third of the schedule doesn’t get any easier for Virginia. They’ll travel to Coral Gables, Fla. this weekend to take on No. 1 Miami in a three-game series.
“I’ve never been down to Miami…” sophomore third baseman Justin Novak said. “I heard Miami’s pretty cool. I can’t wait to go down there and face them. We’re going to be competitive. We’re going to bring a lot of energy and see where it takes us.”
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