The Cavs Take Down The Hokies In Extra Innings To Sweep The Commonwealth Clash (5-18-24)
By: Xavier Jones
Headline Photo Credit: USA Today
On a cool, crisp Saturday evening in Charlottesville, VA at Davenport Field, the Virginia Cavaliers and Virginia Tech Hokies face off in the final game of the weekend series and regular season. This game was also “Senior Day” for the UVA players. UVA is looking to sweep the Hokies in this series. The three-game series began on Thursday, May 16th, with UVA winning 7-3. The next day, Friday, the Cavaliers’ bats continued to stay hot and they won 13-3. Having already won the series, the Cavs will be looking to finish the season strong with a sweep of the Hokies before going into the ACC Tournament next week.
In the first inning, the Hokies got off to a hot start by scoring 3 runs in the opening inning. This hot start for the Hokies continued into the 2nd inning, where they would add four more runs to their total. Going into the 3rd inning, the Cavs were down 7-0 until they hit a 2-run home run to cut into the deficit. For innings 4 through 6, the bats had seemingly cooled off for both teams. After three quick outs for VA Tech in the 7th inning, the bats of UVA began to wake up again. A leadoff walk, an infield single, and an RBI single would make the score 7-3. Then, the Cavs would hit a 3-run homer and a solo homer to tie the game at seven in the 7th.
In the top of the 8th inning, the Hokies would reclaim the lead off of an RBI single. Entering into the bottom of the 8th inning, the Cavs needed to work some clutch-hitting magic. After getting a leadoff HBP, and then a sac bunt, UVA had the tying run on third base. Next, a sac fly was deep enough to get the runner from third to cross the plate and tie the game at 8. Virginia Tech would end up with three straight outs in the top of the 9th inning. However, UVA had gotten the bases loaded with one out and managed to not get the runner home to win the game.
On to extra innings in Charlottesville! In the 10th, 11th, and 12th innings, there was little to no action from either team. During the 13th inning, the Hokies managed to get a runner in to take the lead and push the score to 9-8. Next, UVA gets a runner on first due to be walked. Then, with a big swing and the crack of the bat, a walk-off 2-run home run to win the game and sweep the Commonwealth Clash series. The final score was 10-9. A game that started at 5:02 pm didn’t conclude until after 10 pm. The next game for the Virginia Cavaliers and VA Tech Hokies will be next week in the ACC Tournament in Charlotte, NC.
