Cavaliers Complete Sweep of Wake

So, I said they were going to sweep. I also said they were not going to be that close of games. Batting .500 is quite alright in my book.

None of the games were pretty and all of the games were close, but maybe that is just how these Cavaliers are going to have to win some games this year. It is all apart of baseball, even though it might raise our blood pressures a few points with every close victory.

Friday was a tale of two halves (yes, I know there are no halves in baseball). The first half of the game was owned by Wake who scored six runs through the first four innings. Things calmed down for the next two innings before the Cavaliers decided that they did not really want to lose the game. The Hoos scored a lone run in the seventh to cut the Wake lead to four (2-6) and set up some drama in the ninth. In that ninth inning, the boys were able to load the bases thanks to walks and cut the lead to three with a Jared King sac fly. McCarthy singled and Downes was induced to an infield fly for the second out before Mike Papi stepped to the plate. Down to his final strike, Papi launched his third home run of the year for a go-ahead grand slam to give UVa the lead for good. Kyle Crockett came in in the bottom half and earned his fifth save securing the 7-6 victory.

The second game of the series was similar. Even though the Hoos jumped out to a 1-0 lead after the first, they saw that lead evaporate quickly and trailed 3-6 entering the sixth inning. Yet again, the team showed a resiliency that only a Cavalier baseball team could have and fought back scoring three in the sixth and two more in the eighth to win the series. The highlight of the game on the pitching side was certain Austin Young who held Wake scoreless from the sixth through the eighth before handing the ball to Kyle Crockett who earned his second save of the weekend and sixth of the year. At the plate, Reed Gragnani secured the victory by hitting his first career home run in the eighth scoring Papi and giving UVa the 8-6 lead they needed.

If you didn't know who Joe McCarthy was coming into this weekend, you certainly do after his Sunday performance. The first year went 4-6 with three runs scored and four RBI thanks in large part to two home runs! Fisher, Papi, and Cogswell also joined in the hit parade with two hits of their own. Nick Howard had another quality start going 7.1 innings and only allowing 3 runs (0 earned) on three hits and two walks while striking out six. Kyle Crockett got his third save of the weekend and seventh of the season to secure the series sweep and the 9-7 victory.

The boys welcome Radford to town tomorrow before traveling to Georgia Tech for yet another ACC showdown.