UVa wins series opener

It happened with one simple swing on a pitch out and away.

Trailing by a pair of runs in the third inning against 9th-ranked Miami, Virginia sophomore Jarrett Parker delivered a game-changing, two-run homer that started a rally that eventually propelled the Cavaliers to a 9-4 victory.

With the win, Virginia (19-0, 5-0 ACC) remains the nation’s only unbeaten team.

“Great players step up and make great plays or have great at-bats when their team really needs them,” Virginia coach Brian O’Connor said. “We have had this total team concept this entire season, and that was the moment where Jarrett Parker stepped up and hit a ball that changed the momentum of the game.

“To hit the ball out out of the ballpark in the opposite gap like that is a guy that can really hit.”

Virginia took the lead in the fifth inning with a pair of runs and added a pair of insurance runs in the sixth and lone runs in the seventh and eighth against the Miami (16-4, 5-2) bullpen.

The offensive showing provided enough support for rookie left-handed pitcher Danny Hultzen (5-0), who gave up seven hits and three earned runs over six innings.

“Danny Hultzen did not have his best stuff tonight, and I think people that have seen him pitch before would agree with that,” O’Connor said. “That shows the talent that this kid has and the make-up that he has. He is still able to grind six innings out for his team and keep his team in the ballgame.

“That’s what won the ballgame for us.”

Hultzen, who fanned six batters, helped a depleted bullpen with his longevity, and then turned the contest over to relievers Kevin Arico (1 IP, 2 H 1 ER) and Matt Packer (2 IP, 0 H, 4 SO).

Miami starter Chris Hernandez (2-1), the ACC freshman of the year in 2008, allowed nine hits and six earned runs over 5.1 innings. It marked the first loss of the sophomore’s career.

The Hurricanes raced out to a 3-1 lead with a pair of runs off Hultzen in the top-half of the third inning before Parker hit his home run.

“It was a first-pitch fastball,” said Parker, who finished 2 for 2 with four RBI. “I was just trying to drive the ball. I was trying to keep us in the ballgame.

“He is a great pitcher and I was trying to get a great pitch to hit and I did.”

Virginia finished with 11 hits in the contest, including three from catcher Franco Valdes.

The teams will meet today at 1 p.m.