Virginia cruises past GW

After shoveling snow for two days, Virginia’s baseball team took out its aggression by plowing George Washington 17-4 on Wednesday at Davenport Field.

The Cavaliers registered 20 hits and seven pitchers combined to strike out 17 batters as they improved to 9-0 on the season in their final tuneup before league play.

“I was just glad that we had a chance to play before our opening weekend in the ACC,” Virginia coach Brian O’Connor said. “Our guys worked their tails off on Monday to get all the snow off the field on Monday and unfortunately we weren’t able to play [VMI] on Tuesday, but it was important that we got a game in before ACC play.”

Virginia, which played an error-free game, exploded early, taking a 5-0 lead after scoring three runs in the second and adding a pair in the third off a double from catcher Franco Valdes.

“What really stood out to me was that in the third inning we scored two runs with two outs and nobody on,” O’Connor said.

Starter Neal Davis (2-0) was credited with the win on the mound after he allowed just one hit in a start on the mound that lasted just two innings, which was by design.

“We had a plan pitching-wise to pitch five or six different pitchers, and fortunately it worked out — we got those guys sharp for the weekend, and then we opened the game up and the opportunity to get a lot of position players some at-bats,” O’Connor said. “When you haven’t played in four days and you get a chance to do that going into a weekend it is great.”

Phil Gosselin, Dan Grovatt, and Jared King collected three hits for Virginia. Gosselin also drove in four runs. 

Virginia returns to action Friday at Wake Forest at 6 p.m. Rookie left-handed pitcher Danny Hultzen is scheduled to pitch.

“We know we are in for a tough test,” O’Connor. “I am excited to see how our players will handle a challenge on the road.”