CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The Virginia Cavaliers scored eight times in the third inning and went on to defeat the VMI Keydets, 12-3, in non-conference baseball action Wednesday at Davenport Field.
With the game tied, 2-2, the first 10 batters reached for Virginia (12-8-1) in the third. The Cavaliers were aided by a VMI (6-14) error, but all eight runs in the inning were earned. The home team would tack on two runs in the fifth, and a Cameron Walter ninth-inning home run, the first of his career, would cap the scoring.
Adam Lopez (0-1), making just his second start in a return from elbow surgery, took the loss as he pitched into the third inning. Lopez allowed five runs (four earned) on five hits, striking out three. Barrett O'Neill (2-0) was the winner for UVA, allowing two runs over five frames.
Virginia jumped ahead in the first, as Chris Taylor led off with a double to left. Lopez then induced a grounder to second, but the ball got away from the second baseman for an error, the first of six errors charged to VMI Wednesday. After a strikeout, Mike Papi singled home a run and two batters later, Nate Irving drew a bases-loaded walk to put the Cavaliers up, 2-0.
The Keydets put together a rally in the third, as Matt Winn led off with a single and Gary LeClair followed with a double, putting runners at second and third with nobody out. Two outs later, Jacob Morley singled up the middle with two strikes, scoring both runners and tying the game, 2-2.
Virginia broke the game open in the third. All told in the inning, there were eight runs, seven hits, one VMI error, a hit batter and two errors, and when the frame was completed, the home team led, 10-2.
UVA then added two in the fifth, thanks to an RBI single by Jared King and a sacrifice fly for Irving, putting the Cavaliers up 12-2. Both teams would empty their benches throughout the remainder of the contest, and the only run scored the rest of the way came in the ninth. Cameron Walter drove a fastball over the left-field wall for a solo home run, his first career long ball, accounting for the final margin of 12-3.
In a game that saw 22 players see the field for VMI, Morley went 2 for 5 and Winn added two hits for his second multi-hit game of the year.
VMI baseball will return to action Friday, playing host to the Presbyterian College Blue Hose at Gray-Minor Stadium. The Big South contest is set for a 5 p.m. start.
