Cavs take 2 games from Rams, Hens

With power from the arm of a rookie in the opener and a pair of bats in the nightcap, Virginia swept a doubleheader on Friday, outlasting Fordham and Delaware.

Danny Hultzen fanned 12 batters in the opener as the Cavaliers topped Fordham 6-2, and Jarrett Parker and John Hicks sent pitches over the fence at Davenport Field as the team mounted a rally in an 11-4 victory over Delaware.

Virginia (7-0) shuffled the weekend’s schedule, moving the tilt with Delaware up a day after impending weather threatened to impact play today and Sunday. Due to weather concerns, the Cavaliers will play this morning at 9 a.m. against Fordham (1-4) and have a lone game slated with Delaware on Sunday at 3 p.m.

In the opener, Hultzen (2-0) worked with precision over six innings, allowing six hits and one walk as he registered the highest strikeout total since Sean Doolittle whiffed 13 in 2006 against Maryland.

It was the first Friday start of Hultzen’s young career, as he replaced senior right-hander Andrew Carraway in order to allow the rookie to focus on playing first base as the weekend progressed.

“I moved Danny to Friday for two reasons: Danny has Friday kind of stuff, but so does Andrew Carraway,” Virginia coach Brian O’Connor said. “Also, Danny plays a lot of first base for us and I wanted him to have a day off on Thursday before he starts on the mound. He can start on the mound and concentrate on playing a position.

“He has great stuff. He has a great fastball, he has great change-up and he has a great breaking ball. He has three above-average pitches and he is left-handed. He has heart. He has all the things that you look for.”

Hultzen was spotted an early lead as Virginia roughed up Fordham starter J.P. Mack (0-2) for three runs in the first inning and three more in the third.

Virginia catcher Franco Valdes, who had a pair of doubles, was one of four Cavaliers to register two hits in the opener.

In the second game, UVa found itself trailing 4-1 in the top of the second inning after starter Jeff Lorick stumbled on the mound. The junior allowed four earned runs in 1.1 innings after allowing four hits.

Virginia mounted a rally, however, as it scored five runs in the second inning and got near perfect work from three relievers (Tyler Wilson, Neal Davis and Matt Packer). The trio combined to pitch 7.2 innings, allowing just three hits while striking out 11 batters.

The offense also provided in a timely fashion. Parker led the way with a double and a homer to open the first inning, and Hicks connected on the first homer of his career during a three-run fifth inning.

“The second game was a total team effort. Delaware did a nice job of capitalizing in the first couple of innings, but it was great to see our team respond in the bottom of the second inning,” O’Connor said. “With so many new players you never know how they are going to respond to those situations.

“It was great to see them comeback, fight back and take the lead in the bottom of the second. There were a lot of clutch hits in that inning.”

On the day, Virginia’s pitching staff struck out 28 batters.