With a dead-even series at Virginia Tech and everything to play for as far as postseason placement is concerned, Saturday’s Commonwealth Clash finale was a big one for Virginia. Pressure was evident, and the Cavaliers (32-17, 16-11 ACC) needed a hero. One arrived — freshman left-handed pitcher Tomas Valincius. He powered Virginia to a 3-1 victory, with the Hokies (30-24, 12-18 ACC) unable to get anything going in what ended up an unassailable pitching effort from Virginia.
Valincius threw 6.2 innings, striking out six and walking just one batter. A leadoff first-inning home run ceded to graduate outfielder Ben Watson was the only blemish standing in the way of his first scoreless appearance of the year.
“That young man, Valincius, he’s determined,” Coach Brian O’Connor said. “He’s a fighter, he’s an absolute bulldog out there and he has shown that all year. I am just so proud of him. The adjustments he has made throughout this season to develop as a pitcher are really outstanding.”
While Valincius kept Virginia Tech at bay, the Cavalier offense brought some power to the plate. All three runs came in the first three innings, all of which came off of roundtrippers. A two-run home run in the top of the first was the 11th of the season for junior utilityman Chris Arroyo — a towering drive to right-center despite the brawny Cavalier home run leader buckling on the swing.
Graduate catcher Jacob Ference tacked on one of his own with two outs in the third, awakening the Cavalier offense from a brief lull with a no-doubter to left-center that warranted a watchful moment of admiration from the batter’s box.
Ference finished just a triple shy of the cycle after a fifth-inning double and an infield single in the bottom of the eighth, while also helping Valincius earn a number of advantageous calls through top-tier framing. Ference even pinned down junior infielder Jared Davis at second on a stolen base attempt in the eighth inning. It was only right that Ference made the final play of the game, a testy flyball in foul territory off the pitching of graduate reliever Alex Markus, to seal a series win for the Cavaliers.
However, the offense was largely quiet after an early surge. In the second game of this weekend’s set, the Cavaliers failed to produce anything at the plate after the fourth inning and, in much the same fashion, Virginia struggled to sustain their early output on Saturday. No runs were scored after Ference’s home run. The closest chance, an opportunity with runners at the corners and one out was bungled on a popped-up bunt from sophomore infielder Eric Becker and a strikeout of sophomore outfielder Henry Ford.
Yet, a win is a win — and Saturday’s victory puts Virginia in a favorable position. The Cavaliers find themselves in the most recent projected Field of 64 for the NCAA Tournament offered by Baseball America, albeit by frighteningly narrow margins.
Now, Virginia will look to solidify its standing for June baseball. The Cavaliers approach the start of the ACC tournament in Durham, N.C., Tuesday. As things currently stand, they appear to be destined for a first-round bye that would push their first matchup to Wednesday.
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