Cavaliers Fall to Wake 6-5

You had to know it was going to happen eventually. Luckily for UVa fans, it hasn't happened very often. That "it" I am referring to would be a let down from the Cavalier bullpen. Is it the end of the world? No, and I don't expect it to happen very often, if again. The bullpen has been arguably the best aspect of the team. Oh well.

The offense certainly did its job. The lineup scored 5 runs on 8 hits. Lead in large part by Kenny Towns and Derek Fisher who each had two hits. Towns had two RBI to go with his double. Fisher had an RBI and a run scored to go along with his two hits. Not a bad day for the offense.

Kirby started the game on the mound for the Hoos, and although he struggled early, he settled down to only surrender 1 earned run and 2 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks. He ended up striking out 7 as well over 7.1 innings.

When Whit Mayberry took over Kirby with 1 out in the 8th, the Hoos were in the lead 5-2. Whit would go on to shut out the Deacons in the 8 before giving up a run in the 9th and being relieved by Howard. Most would think the game was all but in the bag for the Cavaliers when Howard came in. Sadly, Nick would go on to give up the lead in the 9th via a 2 out home run. The 10th wouldn't be much better for Nick as he would surrender a 1 out double, an intentional walk, and a single to allow the winning run to score.

With the loss, the Hoos move to 42-10 on the season and 21-7 in the ACC. The loss all but assures that UVa will be the #3 seed in next week's ACC tournament. The only way for the Hoos to win the Conference now would be to beat Wake in the two remaining games, and hope that UNC can somehow miracle a sweep in the final two games of its series with Miami. Tall orders.