University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
Fordham
No. 23 Baseball Sweeps Doubleheader At Fordham
03/30/2002 | Baseball
March 30, 2002
Bronx, N.Y. - University of Richmond junior David Reaver delivered a game-winning two-run double in the seventh inning of game two to earn a sweep for the Spiders in an Atlantic 10 doubleheader at Fordham. Reaver's double propelled the Spiders to a 6-5 win and a 23-2 overall record, while sophomore Tim Stauffer's complete game highlighted a 5-1 win in game one.
GAME 1
The series started on a positive note as the Spiders scored three runs in the top of the first. Reaver extended his hit streak to 17 games with a one-out single to left center. Junior Vito Chiaravalloti then singled sharply to left field and plated Reaver. On the next pitch, sophomore catcher Adam Tidball crushed a home run over the 375-sign in left center and into the football stadium's bleachers.
Richmond added a run in the third when Reaver led off with a double, stole third, and scored on Chiaravalloti's single back up the middle. It was Reaver's second run and Chiaravalloti's second RBI of the game.
Spider starter Tim Stauffer's was cruising into the fourth when he landed in trouble with the bases loaded and one out. Stauffer calmly forced Jon Volosin to bounce into a 4-6-3 double play that kept the score 4-0 after four innings.
Reaver scored again in the fifth, this time on a Matt Craig single to center field, to take a 5-0 advantage. Fordham responded with its only run of the game in their half of the fifth when a Tim Boyle double scored Bobby Kingsbury. The Spiders barely missed two double plays that would have ended the inning.
Reaver, Chiaravalloti and Tidball all collected two hits in the win. Craig recorded the visitors other hit. Stauffer hurled his sixth complete game of the season, working 7.0 innings and allowing one run on six hits.
GAME 2
The Spiders engineered two runs on no hits in the first inning. Centerfielder Bryan Pritz and Reaver opened the frame with walks. On a double steal, Fordham's catcher overthrew third and Pritz scored. Reaver later scored on a Chiaravalloti ground out.
Starter Mike McGirr worked his way into trouble in the first. The first three batters stroked hits, including an RBI double from Boyle that scored Kingsbury who led off the frame with a triple to left center. McGirr responded by striking out two of the next three batters and retiring the other on a comeback grounder. The Spiders led 2-1 after one. The Rams took their first lead of the day, 3-2, on a two-runner homer by Kingsbury in the second.
The Rams increased their lead to 5-2 with another two-run home run in the fourth. Jeremy Bourgeois belted a shot over the center field wall that scored Guidone who had singled to right.
The Spiders climbed back in the game with two in the sixth. Craig led off the frame by smoking a double to the left center gap. Chiaravalloti followed with an opposite field home run that closed the gap to 5-4.
The resilient Richmond team answered the Rams' challenge with two in the top of the seventh to take a 6-5 lead. After the first out, John Cronin walked and Pritz singled to make it first and second with one out. To the plate stepped Reaver, who at 0-3 on the game had his 17-game hit streak on the line. Reaver delivered a two-strike two-run double down the left field line for the win. It extended his hit streak to a career-long 18 games.
Freshman reliever Jason Bolinski improved to 3-1 with the win and sophomore Matt McLoughlin earned his second save of the season, working a perfect ninth.
Richmond (23-2, 5-0 Atlantic 10) and Fordham (6-16-1, 1-5 Atlantic 10) will complete their three-game series with a 1 p.m. start tomorrow, March 31.
