Boston College Athletics
Boston College
Virginia
Baseball Falls In Series Opener Against No. 13 Virginia
April 17, 2009 | Baseball
April 17, 2009
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Danny Hultzen threw 4.1 innings and allowed two runs on the mound and hit a three-run homer from the plate to go along with three runs scored as No. 13 Virginia took the series opener against the Boston College baseball team on Friday, 8-3, at Eddie Pellagrini Diamond at Commander Shea Field.
The second game of the series will be played on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. The game was originally scheduled for 1:30 p.m., but was moved an hour earlier to try to avoid rain expected later in the day.
Tyler Wilson picked up the win for the Cavaliers (29-7-1, 10-6-1 ACC) on the mound with 4.2 innings of relief work. He allowed one run on three hits. Franco Valdez went 3-for-4 with two runs while Jared King had a pinch hit two-RBI double.
Junior Mike Belfiore went 2-for-4 at the plate for Boston College (23-14, 9-8 ACC) with his 10th home run of the season in the eighth inning. His 10 home runs are tied for sixth in a single season in program history. Junior Tony Sanchez had an RBI double.
The Cavaliers got on the board first in the top of the second with a single run. Hultzen forced a walk with two outs and then Tyler Cannon doubled down the line in right and Hultzen beat the throw to the plate to put Virginia on top, 1-0.
BC tied the game up with a run in the bottom of the third. Junior Robbie Anston came back from an 0-2 count to force a walk with one out. Sanchez then stepped to the plate with two outs and pulled an 0-1 offering down the third base line for a double that brought Anston all the way around to score to tie the game.
Virginia regained the lead in the fourth with a three-homer from Hultzen. Dan Grovatt walked with one out and then Steven Proscia took one the other way for a single to put a pair of Cavaliers on base. Hultzen then lifted an 0-1 pitch over the wall in right-center for three runs to help his own cause and put the Cavs back on top, 4-1.
BC added another run in the bottom of the fourth. Junior Barry Butera walked with one out and then took second when a pickoff throw got away from the first baseman. Sophomore Garret Smith then blooped a single over the second baseman to put runners on the corners. On the final pitch of a strikeout, Smith took off for second and was eventually tagged out but not before Butera was able to score to cut the lead in half, 4-2.
The Cavaliers added a run in the top of the seventh to go up three runs. Valdez led off and singled through the left side of the infield and then John Barr sacrificed him up to second base. Sophomore Kevin Moran struck out the next two batters, but a wild pitch got past Sanchez on the final pitch to John Hicks and he reached first to continue the inning. Valdez also reached third on the play.
Phil Gosselin then walked on four pitches to load the bases and Grovatt laid off of a nice curveball on a full count to force a run home and put Virginia up three runs, 5-2. Proscia then left the bases loaded when Moran got him down swinging.
Virginia tacked on three more in the eighth to put the game out of reach. Hultzen and Cannon both walked to start the frame and then Valdez tried to sacrifice them over but ended up with a hit to load the bases when his failed bunt attempt snuck over Moran. King came on to pinch hit and delivered a two-run double to right field to extend the UVA cushion to 7-2. Hicks got another run with a sacrifice fly to right.
