After losing two of three over the weekend, the No. 11 Virginia baseball team rebounded with its most complete performance of the season, routing Monmouth College 10-0 at Davenport Field Monday.
The Cavaliers (14-3, 1-2 ACC) gave a stellar performance at the plate against the Hawks (2-11), plating 10 runs on nine hits. It was the Cavalier pitching staff, though, that really shined — giving its best outing of the season. Virginia held Monmouth to three hits and struck out 10 Hawks, seven of whom were delivered by senior reliever Alec Bettinger. Bettinger was sensational in five innings of relief for junior starter Derek Casey, who left after three innings when he got hit with a line drive in the wrist.
“[Bettinger] came in and completely locked the game down with five innings and seven strikeouts,” coach Brian O’Connor said. “He settled down and pitched fantastic for us. I thought we did a lot of good things, but that was certainly tremendous for us.”
Bettinger and the rest of Virginia’s pitching staff benefited from a quick strike from the offense. Graduate catcher Robbie Coman ripped a two-RBI single with two outs in the first inning to open up the scoring. Virginia got another run in the third inning from Adam Haseley’s seventh homer of the season — a solo shot to right field.
The Cavalier bats cooled off after the fourth inning, giving them a 4-0 lead for most of the game. In the bottom of the eighth inning, however, Monmouth fell victim to another big inning from the Cavalier offense that sealed the game. Virginia sent 10 batters to the dish and plated six runs on three hits, aided by three errors from the Monmouth defense.
The Cavaliers’ aggressiveness on the base paths got them crucial insurance runs in the eighth. A double steal by sophomore outfielder Cameron Simmons and junior third baseman Justin Novak plated two runs when the Monmouth catcher overthrew the throw to second base, allowing Novak to score from second.
Virginia’s dominant performance was cemented in the ninth when junior reliever Riley Wilson came in and struck out the side. Bettinger picked up his first win of the season with his shut down long relief performance.
The Virginia offense looked like it had its mojo back after a tough weekend against North Carolina when it only scored eight runs over three games. The Cavaliers forced seven pitching changes from Monmouth Monday, its potency proving too much for the Hawks’ pitching staff. Sophomore second baseman Andy Weber and sophomore shortstop Ernie Clement collected three hits each for Virginia, and Haseley led with two RBIs. Five different Cavaliers knocked in runs, though four of the Virginia’s 10 runs were unearned stemming from Monmouth errors.
Virginia will look to ride this big win into a tough weekend showdown with No. 13 Clemson in South Carolina, starting Friday.
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