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Baseball unable to weather the storm against No. 19 Miami

The Cavaliers lost two of three against the Hurricanes despite noble efforts

<p>The Cavaliers won the second game of the series with Abbott, who pitched eight scoreless innings, on the mound</p>

The Cavaliers won the second game of the series with Abbott, who pitched eight scoreless innings, on the mound

The Cavaliers continued their long stretch of games at Disharoon Park this past weekend against No. 19 Miami. In the first game, Virginia (10-13, 4-11 ACC) lost 8-6 after recording 13 offensive hits. The Cavaliers evened the series in the second game after senior left-hander Andrew Abbott pitched an extraordinary eight innings. Virginia would then go on to lose the final game 4-2 after neither team recorded a walk or a hit by pitch.

Game 1 — Virginia 6, Miami 8

Virginia took the first lead of the day with two RBI doubles — one from senior outfielder Christian Hlinka and one from sophomore infielder Max Cotier. Miami (12-8, 7-7 ACC) would come close to scoring multiple times, but Cavalier pitching would leave the bases loaded and take away the Hurricanes’ opportunities — that is, up until the sixth inning.

Miami broke out and went on a massive scoring streak during the sixth. The Hurricanes scored five runs in total — four of which were unearned. Miami would hold onto this lead for the rest of the game, despite some offensive action for Virginia.

In the seventh inning, freshman catcher Kyle Teel and junior infielder Zack Gelof both scored solo home runs for the Cavaliers and narrowed their team’s deficit to one. The Hurricanes responded in the eighth and scored three runs to pull away from Virginia, who would go on to score a run off a long ball from senior infielder Devin Ortiz.

The Cavaliers would go on to score one more run in the ninth inning. The first three batters of the frame recorded hits, with senior outfielder Brendan Rivoli eventually plating Teel thanks to an RBI single up the middle. The attempt at a late rally was unsuccessful, however, and Virginia finished down by two.

Game 2 — Virginia 4, Miami 0

The second game was highlighted by Virginia’s pitching and marked the 500th win for the team at Disharoon Park. It was also the first time the Cavaliers shut out an ACC team since 2018. 

Abbott pitched eight innings, threw seven strikeouts and held Miami to just four hits throughout the contest. Senior right-hander Blake Bales finished out the game and secured the shutout for the Cavaliers.

On the offensive side, all four Virginia runs came during the fifth inning. With the bases loaded, Ortiz would triple to the left-center and bring himself, and all three other runners, home due to a fatal Hurricane throwing error. This was just one of many defensive errors for Miami and one that proved to be devastating to the Hurricanes in the end.

This win also snapped an almost four-year-long losing streak that the Cavaliers had against Miami. 

Game 3 — Virginia 2, Miami 4

It was a quick start for the Hurricanes in the final game of the series as they scored a run in the first. A few innings later, Virginia evened it out courtesy of a single from Rivoli that scored junior infielder Nic Kent and tied the game up 1-1 heading into the fifth.

During their half of the fifth inning, the Cavaliers pulled away as Ortiz scored from second on a two-out throwing error. Their lead was taken away, however, as Miami tied it up in the sixth.

The Hurricanes took the lead in the seventh and Virginia attempted a rally in the bottom of the inning. There was one out and Cavalier runners were at the corners, but the defensive efforts on Miami’s part were too much.

The Hurricanes added one more insurance run in the eighth to secure the win and take the series.

“It just wasn’t enough, we just couldn’t hold them down,” Coach Brian O’Connor said. “We’re not going to go away, we’re going to keep grinding and find our way.”

With the losses this weekend, the Cavaliers’ 4-11 ACC record is their worst conference start through the first 15 games in over 20 years.

In hopes of picking up the pace, Virginia will return to the field Tuesday for an away game at George Washington. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. and the game will air on ESPN+.

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