No. 13 Virginia welcomed interstate foe James Madison to Disharoon Park Tuesday evening for a midweek contest for a potential return to the winner’s column following a series loss to then-No. 7 Florida State over the weekend.
The Dukes (16-15, 6-6 SBC) came into the matchup winless in their last 13 matchups against the Cavaliers (24-9, 8-7 ACC), but a scrappy squad that boasted 94 steals in just 105 attempts until Tuesday promised a tight contest.
Coach Chris Pollard entrusted sophomore southpaw Henry Zatkowski with his first start in nearly a month. He also opted for an offensive adjustment that saw junior shortstop Eric Becker move down to second in the order with junior outfielder AJ Gracia taking his place in the leadoff spot.
The Dukes seemed intent on deploying nearly all of their pitching, utilizing five pitchers in the first four innings. Their effort to keep Cavalier hitters on their toes worked to good effect in the game’s early stages. The Cavaliers mustered a lone run in the first when Gracia, who reached on a leadoff walk, was brought home by junior second baseman Joe Tiroly on a groundout.
The bottom half of the order took JMU pitching to task in the fourth, with junior outfielder Kyle Johnson drawing a walk and junior designated hitter Antonio Perrotta lining a ball into right for a single. Junior third baseman Noah Murray then dealt what looked to be a decisive blow with a three-run home run into the grandstand in left field to give the Cavaliers a four-run lead.
Zatkowski proved formidable in his four innings of work, allowing only two hits while walking none and striking out eight in his return to the rotation. The Cavaliers looked to maintain their four-run advantage on the defensive end in the fifth.
That was, until freshmen pitchers Jayden Stroman and Noah Yoder lost all control. Unable to get an out, Stroman walked freshman Keegan Haesler to set up a bunt by freshman Will Haacke that Stroman promptly threw into right field. Another walk ended his night, forcing a call to the bullpen.
Yoder’s night took a similar course, with an opening flyout followed by two straight walks. Graduate Lucas Hartman entered to stop the bleeding but surrendered another walk before recording the final out. When all was said and done, the Dukes had put three across to cut the lead to just one.
After a one-two-three bottom half and an uneventful sixth inning, the Dukes once again staged a small-ball barrage in the seventh. A bloop single into left off the bat of junior outfielder Kyle Langley and his subsequent theft of second base started things off. Another single left runners at the corners for sophomore infielder Reece Moody, who induced a throwing error from graduate pitcher Lucas Hartman on a bunt which allowed Langley to score.
An untimely fielding error from Murray scored sophomore outfielder Clay Thompson and a single up the middle courtesy of freshman infielder Conner Worth brought the remaining two runners home. The Cavaliers faced a 7-4 deficit.
A bases-loaded scare from the Dukes was quelled by graduate righty Tyler Kapa in the eighth. Soon after, the Cavaliers were able to sneak one across when Perrotta was hit by a pitch. Freshman utilityman Bryce Neely pinch ran for Perrotta and immediately made an impact — Neely took second on a botched pickoff attempt and then scored on a two-out single from junior pinch hitter Jake Weatherspoon.
Kapa struck out two as he put the Dukes down in order in the top of the ninth. A leadoff walk of Becker and junior first baseman Sam Harris’ fourth strikeout of the evening set the stage for Tiroly. He took a 1-1 pitch deep into the Charlottesville night, depositing a home run into the Virginia bullpen to tie the game.
A runner left stranded meant that the game would continue to extras. In the top of the 10th, Thompson and Moody hit consecutive singles and proceeded to execute a successful double steal of second and third.
For all the success that Kapa had Tuesday in keeping the JMU offense quiet, his night came down to one pitch in a full count against junior catcher Ben Barrow. He unleashed an erratic delivery that made its way to the backstop and allowed Thompson to score.
The Cavaliers did not go quietly, however. A leadoff walk from Murray, a sacrifice bunt from freshman catcher Thomas O’Connell and the plunking of Gracia meant runners on first and second with just one out.
Becker hit what looked to be a sure out up in the air in shallow left. Sophomore shortstop Jack Anderson overran it and slipped as the ball landed directly on top of the foul line, loading the bases.
A Harris strikeout brought Tiroly to the plate with two outs. Tiroly nearly repeated the heroics of the prior inning, launching a ball into deep right that settled in junior right fielder Ike Schmidly’s glove just short of the warning track.
For the Dukes, it was a moment of elation, an 8-7 victory against what has proved to be one of the best collegiate teams in the country. For the Cavaliers, it was a shock that bred an atmosphere of despondency as the players cleaned and exited the dugout.
Coach Pollard remained resolute in the postgame presser.
“It was a good job of competing until the very last pitch of the ballgame,” Pollard said. “There was no rollover. Guys continued to fight and string together good at-bats.”
The Cavaliers will look to right the ship Friday as they venture to South Bend, Ind., for an ACC matchup against Notre Dame. First pitch is at 5:30 p.m. EST.
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