Cavaliers Bats Catch Fire in 13-6 Win Over Duke

Just a day after getting embarrassed by the Blue Devils, the Cavaliers’ offense responded appropriately tallying up 13 runs on 20 hits in a 13-6 route to even the weekend series.

Junior Charlie Cody paced the lineup with 3 hits, including two home runs, three runs, and four RBI. Pavin Smith added to Cody’s total with his 7th home run of the season and a similar three hit day.

The biggest story was the complete balance of lineup. All 9 starters in the lineup had at least one hit, and 8 of the 9 had multi hit games. After the offensive woes of ACC play, it was good to see an offensive output similar to the efforts the lineup had turned in during out of conference play.

Although Evan Sperling did not turn in the type of start Coach Karl Kuhn and the staff had likely hoped he would given the performance on the mound yesterday, Alec Bettinger came on in relief in the fourth inning to hold the Blue Devils to just one run over the final 5.1 innings.

After struggling on the mound last weekend in Clemson, Sophomore Evan Sperling surely wanted a strong outing to boost his confidence. Allowing 5 runs on just 3 hits probably won’t get that accomplished. While he did strike out 6 over the 3.2 innings, the 4 walks will be unacceptable for the UVa staff.

The rubber match of the series will be tomorrow at 1. Any ACC series is tough, but if Virginia has its sights set on hosting another Regional come NCAA Tournament time, series like this have to be won.