Cavaliers sneak past Keydets in extra innings

Kevin McMullan wanted to force the action.
Virginia’s third base coach signaled for catcher Franco Valdes to take a pitch after he raced out to a 3-1 lead in the count as the bottom half of the 11th inning started.
VMI pitcher Michael Bowman answered with a strike that ultimately produced the Cavaliers’ biggest hit of the game.
Valdes laced a 3-2 pitch into the gap in left-center field and pinch runner Corey Hunt scored two batters later on an errant throw from VMI second baseman Shane Geisslinger as Virginia rallied for a 6-5 victory at Davenport Field.
It was Virginia’s second straight rally and helped the program avoid back-to-back losses against VMI (26-23) for the first time in 47 years.
“The 3-2 pitch was exactly the same as the 3-1 strike, and I just got the barrel on it,” Valdes said. “We are standing great right now as a team. We didn’t show in the first four or five innings against VMI, but after that we started getting it together, and the results are always good when you play well.”
The extra innings came about in an odd fashion for Virginia (35-17).
Trailing 5-3 in the eighth inning, David Adams stole second base and advanced to third on the throw as it sailed into center field. After a lollipop throw was made back toward the infield, Adams broke for home and slid in safely as the relay throw approached offline.
“How many times have we seen that out of David Adams?” asked Virginia coach Brian O’Connor. “His instincts for the game of baseball are as good as you will see. He’s always looking to make something happen. That was a huge play in helping us win the ballgame.”
The Cavaliers also manufactured an unearned run in the ninth off Bowman, the No. 1 pitcher in VMI’s weekend rotation.
Patrick Wingfield, who finished with two hits, reached safely to open the last frame in regulation after VMI shortstop A.J. Yoder lost the handle on a grounder. After pinch runner Jarrett Parker stole second, John Barr failed to get a bunt down and struck out trying.
Greg Miclat prolonged the game, however, slapping a run-scoring double into left field.
After Virginia reliever Robert Morey (2-0) escaped a jam in the top of the 11th with a full-count strikeout pitch, a similar script was written with Valdes standing at second and nobody out. This time it was Parker that failed to get a bunt down with two strikes.
That gave Barr a chance at redemption. He responded, making contact on a chopper to the left of Geisslinger. After ranging to the ball, his wide throw pulled first baseman Jordan Ballard into foul territory, and the Monticello product could not glove the ball.
“I thought it was through off the bat,” Barr said. “I
didn’t hit it that well; I got jammed a little bit. The pitch [Bowman] threw me looked like a fat fastball and was kind of high.”
Hunt, another former Monticello star, saw the errant throw and raced home, starting a wild on-field celebration that later trickled towards Barr at first base.
After failing to win games of this nature for most of the current campaign, O’Connor said he is hopeful that winning becomes contagious as the team enters its final weekend series of the regular season.
“Those are two great games for us,” he said. “They were both big wins and they were in come-from-behind fashion. Hopefully, we can continue to find ways to win ballgames.”
VMI, which had not lost a game all season when leading entering the ninth, certainly helped Virginia steal the win — the Keydets made four of their five errors in the final four innings.
Bowman took the loss, falling to 3-5 on the season.
Virginia entertains Georgia Tech on Thursday in the series opener at 6 p.m.