University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
Virginia
Richmond Rallies But Falls At No. 6 Virginia Tuesday Night
04/17/2007 | Baseball
April 17, 2007
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The Richmond baseball team rallied to pull within 5-4, but fell on the road at No. 6 Virginia, 12-5, Tuesday night at Davenport Field in Charlottesville. Freshman catcher Evan Stehle had two hits and belted his first collegiate home run for the Spiders, who play at VMI tomorrow at 6 p.m.
Victor Croglio had two hits and Matt McKenna had two hits and two RBI for the Spiders (22-15), who snapped a three-game winning streak. No. 6 Virginia (32-8) stayed tough at home by winning for the 22nd time in 26 tries.
"We played well through five innings," said head coach Ron Atkins. "But we didn't do the little things you need to beat a team like Virginia. They are a very good team and they're not going to beat themselves."
Richmond jumped on the scoreboard first as Austin Reilly and Joe Mahoney hit back-to-back singles with one out in the top of the first. A double steal moved them into scoring position and Reilly scored from third on a sacrifice fly from Vince Riggi.
The Cavaliers answered in the bottom of the second, getting a run on a John Scaglione RBI double. The home team tacked on two more in the third and two more in the fourth to extend their lead to 5-1.
Stehle ripped a solo shot to left field, making the score 5-2 in the top of the fifth. His homer was the first of his collegiate career and the first by an opponent at spacious Davenport Field since Niagara went yard on March 13 (nine games).
The Spiders put a two-out rally together to in sixth, thanks to three consecutive singles by Alex Wotring, Andrew Justice and McKenna. McKenna's single plated Wotring as he was running on the 3-2 pitch. It was a nice piece of hitting by Justice that set the run up. He poked a single through the wide-open left side with Wotring moving on the pitch.
Richmond would cut the deficit to 5-4 in the same inning when McKenna got caught in a rundown between first and second and Justice scored from third.
Greg Miclat drew a lead off walk to start the sixth for the Cavaliers and came home to score on a Brandon Marsh double. The run was the first of seven over the next three innings that sealed the win for UVa starter Jeff Lorick (2-0). Richmond starter Chris Sullivan (0-2) was tagged with the loss after going three innings with three earned runs and a strikeout.
Virginia's Mike Mitchell, who wore No. 42 to honor Jackie Robinson, went four-for-five with three runs, 3 stolen bases and an RBI.
The game was preceded by a five-minute moment of silence to recognize those that were injured or lost their lives in the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech.
The Spiders extend their streak of games played within the Commonwealth of Virginia to 28 tomorrow night at VMI. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at Patchin Field in Lexington, Va.
