Entering the weekend after a thorough run-rule demolition of Old Dominion during the week, the Cavaliers welcomed Florida State to The Dish Thursday evening. The No. 7 Seminoles (21-7, 7-3 ACC) came into the contest on the back of three straight ACC series wins, while the No. 10 Cavaliers (24-7, 8-5 ACC) looked to get back into the conference winner’s circle after a disappointing outcome in Boston last weekend.
For the town of Charlottesville, the game marked the first instance in which a top-10 matchup has graced Davenport Field since D1Baseball started their weekly poll. The series means even more for Coach Chris Pollard and his program, a chance to establish themselves squarely in the company of the conference’s very best.
On the mound was a lefty-lefty duel for the ages. Pollard opted for two-way junior Kyle Johnson as he continues to accelerate his usage in preparation for the postseason. On the other side, Coach Link Jarrett handed the ball to junior premier arm Wes Mendes, who sported a 6-1 record to go along with an Earned Run Average of 1.33 entering the ballgame.
Johnson was stellar in his third appearance of the year. A first-inning jam was evaded when the lefty struck out the side after a leadoff hit-by-pitch and an unruly throw by junior shortstop Eric Becker meant runners at first and second with no outs.
A Seminole hitter wouldn’t reach base again until the top of the fourth, as Johnson continued to flash ace-level stuff from the left side on the way to a season-high seven strikeouts.
Fortunately for the Seminoles, Cavalier bats were just as quiet to start the game. Mendes set three of the first five batters down on strikes and, save for a well-struck single to left off the bat of junior catcher Jake Weatherspoon and a walk of the junior nine-hole hitter Noah Murray, he was flawless through the first three innings.
Virginia’s offensive burst came in the bottom half of the fourth. A single off the bat of junior infielder Joe Tiroly found grass in left to start things off, and the Cavaliers were off to the races. First baseman Sam Harris roped a first-pitch double into the gap in right field that put across the first run of the ballgame and Weatherspoon was quick to bring him home with another first-pitch hit, a single to center field.
During junior designated hitter Antonio Perrotta’s at-bat, Coach Pollard appeared to exchange some words with home-plate umpire Kevin Sweeney over the strike zone. The state of the zone wouldn’t matter much for Perrotta, as he proceeded to deposit the next pitch into the left-field pavilion for a towering two-run homerun. When all was said and done, the Cavaliers had a four-run lead over the visiting Seminoles.
Florida State punched right back in the top of the fifth after the departure of Johnson. Sophomore southpaw Henry Zatkowski entered the game in relief and managed two quick outs before the No. 9 hitter Carter McCulley got aboard via a single, and Becker committed a second error, this time a misplayed grounder as he was charging in.
The miscue would prove costly, with a double to left from sophomore second baseman Noah Sheffield driving in McCulley and a single courtesy of sophomore catcher Hunter Carns bringing home the remaining two runs. All of a sudden, it was a one-run ballgame and it was all up to the Cavalier bullpen to cement a victory.
And that is just what they did. Zatkowski recovered and seemed infallible over the next two frames, drawing weak contact for three outs and a hitless sixth, and punching out two in the seventh.
The graduate duo of Lucas Hartman and Tyler Kapa took care of business in their respective set-up and closing positions, as the remaining six hitters went down in order, and the Cavaliers had their prize victory.
Above all, what shone through in Thursday’s contest was the resilience of this Virginia squad, at the helm of which was Kyle Johnson.
“[Johnson’s] ability to go strikeout-strikeout-strikeout to get us off the field in the first, we fed off [his] toughness all night,” Pollard said postgame. “I thought it was a really tough performance by our team.”
The Cavaliers and Seminoles will return to the field tomorrow at and on Saturday for what could be a crucial series decider.
Read More
Virginia bats silenced by Blue Devils in 5-2 defeat to open weekend series
By Joby Jung | 2 hours agoThe first four batters in Virginia's lineup were held hitless, while Duke's top four combined for four hits.
Chandler Morris denied additional year of eligibility
By Emory Huffman | 5 hours agoAfter filing a lawsuit against the NCAA in February, Morris testified Thursday in an effort to earn a preliminary injunction against the NCAA’s decision.
With Duke on tap — can Virginia softball skip the April showers?
By Cierra Lyles | 11 hours agoIf Virginia wants to see the Women’s College World Series in June, it has to prove it belongs there first. That proof starts at Duke Thursday at 6:00 p.m.
