Cavaliers eke out 10-inning win over Hokies

By ANDREW JOYNER
Daily Progress staff writer

Only in baseball, with all its quirks and idiosyncrasies, could the events of the 10th inning of Tuesday’s game between Virginia Tech and Virginia at Davenport Field be imagined let alone occur.
Virginia’s Dan Street lined a two-out, 3-2 pitch with the bases loaded into right field to plate the winning run and give the Cavaliers a dramatic 8-7 victory. That was perhaps the only thing normal that happened in that 10th inning. The rest, well, that even escaped Virginia coach Dennis Womack.
“I know my stomach is hurting. I don’t know if yours is,” Womack said. “The only thing I can really remember from that inning, to some extent, is Danny getting that base hit. ... I figured there must have been a full moon out or something tonight.”
In fact, astrology might be the easiest culprit, but alas, there was no full moon in the sky Tuesday.
First, there was Virginia Tech’s top of the 10th. The Hokies (22-21) managed to get a runner to third with one out when the ensuing batter, Chris Stanton, hit a drive down the left-field line that was signaled foul by the umpire. On the next pitch, Stanton appeared to have struck out, but the umpires, after a deliberation, ruled that Stanton’s tip hit the ground before Virginia catcher Scott Headd caught it in the dirt.
Then, seemingly on cue, Stanton lined a shot to center that was caught by UVa center fielder Chris Sweet who then gunned down the potential go-ahead runner at the plate to end the inning on what was another very close play.
Then for Virginia’s half of the 10th. The Cavaliers (24-23) managed to place runners on first and second with two out and Matt Street at the plate. Virginia Tech reliever Matt Dalton then proceeded to record three strikes on Street, but the third escaped the grasp of Tech catcher Jed English and allowed Street to reach base.
That brought Dan Street to the plate with what could best be described as two-and-a-half outs in the books.
“I just sat and waited on the fastball and luckily he threw it to me,” said the right-handed Street, who stroked the ball into the opposite field through Tech’s drawn-in infield. “We’ve had a lot of weird games this year and this was just another one.”
By the time of Street’s hit, the Cavaliers, who finished the game with 16 hits, had already rallied from a 6-0 deficit after the first two innings only to have Tech score a run in the ninth to send the game to the extra innings.
“The game itself was odd in that there were just some many crucial plays and bang-bang plays,” Womack said. “It was a hotly contested game. ... Again, I can’t even remember all that happened in the game. I guess I’ll have to read about it in the morning.”
Dan Street was 5 for 6 with two RBI for the Cavaliers while Sweet finished 3 for 4. UVa first baseman Robert Word hit a solo homer, his eighth of the year, in the third inning.
Dalton (2-2) took the loss for the Hokies while reliever Jeff Kamrath (7-2) received the win for the Cavaliers. Kamrath, along with Greg Hansard, Shooter Starr, Chris Marinak and Alan Zimmerer combined to yield just one Hokie run after starter Chris Gale surrendered the initial six.

Gill, UVa rout Butler

By JOHN GALINSKY
Daily Progress staff writer

With half of his classmates on the sideline in street clothes, Conor Gill carried the torch for the seniors in Virginia’s final home men’s lacrosse game of the season Tuesday. He ended up carrying it well before passing it off — passing, after all, being his finest skill — to the team’s gifted freshmen.
Gill matched his career high with eight points as the fifth-ranked Cavaliers wrapped up the regular season with a 21-3 rout of Butler at Klockner Stadium.
The two-time All-American attackman had two goals and five assists by halftime, then added another assist before leaving the field for good in the third quarter.
“I’ve had a great time playing in front of these fans and playing on this field,” said Gill, who moved into fifth place on the school’s career points list with 211. “It’s been a great experience and I’m glad to go out this way.”
Nine players scored at least two goals for Virginia (10-3), which looked sharp in snapping a two-game losing streak. UVa coach Dom Starsia said he expects his team to receive a top-four seed in the NCAA tournament, which would give it a first-round bye, when the 12-team field is announced Sunday.
In losses at Duke and Penn State, Gill totaled just two goals and two assists. So his performance Tuesday was one of many encouraging signs for the Cavaliers going into the NCAAs.
“The truth of the matter is we’re only going wherever Conor takes us,” Starsia said. “That’s the way it is. ... I need Conor to get in front of everybody emotionally, and that’s not really who he is. He’s kind of a quiet kid. But he needs to lift this team up. Whatever is required here, that’s what Conor has to assume his responsibility is.”
Starsia said Gill became the “emotional leader” of the team when All-American defenseman Mark Koontz suffered a season-ending knee injury in the ACC championship loss to Duke 10 days ago. Koontz was one of four injured seniors on the sideline Tuesday, joining Ian Shure (thumb), Nick Russo (shoulder) and Brenndan Mohler (knee). Shure is out for the season, but Russo and Mohler are expected to play in the NCAA tourney.
In their absence, freshmen scored 11 goals on Senior Day. Joe Yevoli led the way with three goals and three assists, while John Christmas, Jared Little and Nathan Kenney each scored twice. Gill’s brother, Brendan, recorded his first goal as a Cavalier in the fourth quarter.
“I kind of felt bad all those [seniors] were out,” Yevoli said. “I said congratulations to them after the game. They were definitely a major, major part of this team. They deserve credit more than anyone else.”
Another freshman, Steve Holmes, received his first start on close defense in place of junior David Burman, who had been ineffective in two games as a starter following Koontz’s injury. Starsia said he plans on keeping Holmes in the starting lineup for the NCAA tournament.
The Cavaliers received a much-needed confidence boost after a deflating 13-8 loss at Penn State last Saturday. Starsia said his team did not play with intensity in that game, and he was a bit concerned when his team again looked flat in the opening minutes and gave up an early goal to the Bulldogs.
“You’re standing there thinking, ‘Oh my God, how is this going to go?’” Starsia said.
For Butler (5-8), it went straight downhill. The Cavaliers scored 18 straight goals over the next 31 minutes, with the first eight coming from eight different players. Yevoli finished with a career high in assists, including a nifty pass from his knees to Justin Mullen early in the second quarter.
Gill also was superb as a feeder, dissecting Butler’s defense with pinpoint passes to open teammates. His six assists were one shy of the career high he established in the season opener against Drexel. He now has 136 career assists, third on the Virginia charts.
“It was big for us,” Gill said. “We didn’t play particularly well against Duke and paid the price for it. Then we got it handed to us against Penn State. Just from a confidence standpoint going into the [NCAA] tournament, it was great. A lot of people stepped up and played well.”