No. 16 Virginia holds on in series finale at FSU

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

No. 16 Virginia (6-5, 2-4 ACC) held on to a 2-1 victory over Florida State (4-5, 2-4 ACC) in the final game of a three-game series at Dick Howser Stadium on Sunday (March 7).

The Cavaliers will return home on Tuesday (March 9) to begin a season-long, eight-game home stand.

Closer Stephen Schoch (Laurel, Md.) escaped two bases loaded jams, one in the seventh and another in the eighth to preserve the 2-1 Virginia lead. In the ninth, with the tying run on second base, Schoch induced the game-ending groundout to seal his fourth save of the season. The righthander tossed the final 2.1 innings and struck five batters.

Virginia jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to a pair of two-out, RBI hits from Brendan Rivoli (Douglassville, Pa.). The senior designated hitter drove in Nic Kent (Charlottesville, Va.) in the first inning with a double to left field and Zack Gelof (Rehoboth Beach, Del.) came home to score on a single to center in the third inning, proving to be the game-winning run.

Starting pitcher Mike Vasil (Wellesley, Mass.) was once again at the top of his game for the Cavaliers and earned his ACC-best, third win of the season. The righty struck nine batters and pitched into the seventh inning for his sixth-straight quality start dating back to last season. After a one-out single in the first inning, Vasil retired the next 14 batters before issuing a leadoff walk in the sixth. Vasil worked around two runners in the sixth and later exited with one out and a runner on in the seventh.

Coming into the game, Vasil had not allowed an earned run or issued a walk, the only pitcher in the NCAA to do so with 12 or more innings pitched.

The only Florida State run of the afternoon came on a bases loaded walk by Blake Bales (Schoolcraft, Mich.) in the seventh. Schoch came in to face the next batter and ended the Seminole threat with the first of his five strikeouts. Between Vasil, Bales and Schoch, the Cavalier pitching staff struck out 15 batters and yielded only four hits.

The Cavaliers host Richmond on Tuesday before welcoming Notre Dame to Disharoon Park next weekend for Virginia’s first home ACC series of the year. Tuesday’s midweek contest against the Spiders is scheduled for a 3 p.m. first pitch on ACCNX.