No. 1 UVA Rallies to Beat Beesball 4-3

In spite of Mott Hyde extending his reached-base streak to 28 games (best in the ACC) and Josh Heddinger's solid start, the Yellow Jackets came up short against the best team in the country right now (No. 1 Virginia) by a final score of 4-3. The Yellow Jackets dropped to 8-9 (5-6 ACC) in one-run games and 29-21 overall (14-14 ACC).

UVA got the scoring started off quickly in the bottom of the first inning. With runners on first and second and one out, sophomore CF Joe McCarthy came up to the plate. On the 2-0 pitch, McCarthy singled into center, allowing the baserunners to each move up a base. The lead runner (junior RF Mike Papi) would score after a throwing error by Daniel Spingola.

The Wahoos would score again in the bottom of the fourth inning. With a runner on third and two outs, junior 1B Kenny Towns came up to the plate. On the 1-1 pitch, Towns singled into right-center to bring home the runner from third.

The Yellow Jackets would finally get on the board in the top of the fifth inning, scoring three runs. With runners on second and third and one out, freshman RF Ryan Peurifoy came up to the plate. In reaching on a fielding error by the UVA pitcher, Peurifoy was able to drive in junior DH AJ Murray from third. In the next at-bat, freshman C Arden Pabst walked to load the bases. This would bring up senior captain and 2B Mott Hyde. On the 1-2 pitch, Hyde hit a fly ball into foul territory in right field, which the UVA RF caught. It was deep enough, however, to allow the runner from third (freshman SS Connor Justus) to score. Junior CF Daniel Spingola came up to the plate next. On the 0-1 pitch, Spingola singled down the left field line, scoring Ryan Peurifoy from third.

The Yellow Jackets would only keep their lead for a short time, as UVA would come back to score two more runs in the bottom of the seventh inning off of a single from junior RF Mike Papi, giving the game its final score of 4-3.

Junior RHP Josh Heddinger started the game for the Yellow Jackets. In his 6.1 innings of work, Heddinger allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits while striking out two batters and walking two. Finishing the game up for Tech was sophomore LHP Sam Clay. In his 1.2 innings of work, Clay allowed no runs on two hits and struck out and walked a batter. Josh Heddinger was credited with the loss, his third of the season.

Sophomore LHP Nathan Kirby started the game for the Wahoos. In his 5.2 innings of work, Kirby allowed three runs (one earned) on six hits while striking out four batters and walking two. Coming on in his relief was senior RHP Austin Young. In his 1.1 innings of work, Young pitched perfectly, striking out two batters. Up next for the Wahoos was redshirt-senior RHP Whit Mayberry. Mayberry also pitched perfectly for an inning, striking out three batters. Finishing up the game for the Wahoos was junior RHP Nick Howard. In his 1.0 inning of work, Howard faced four batters, walking one and striking out two. Austin Young was credited with the win, his first of the season, and Nick Howard with the save, giving him 16 on the season.

The series continues Saturday at noon, which was pushed back from 4 PM due to possibility of inclement weather. It will be available on 91.1 FM WREK, or if you have an online subscription to CBS Sports you can watch it online.