Score: Virginia 5, VCU 3
Location: Charlottesville, Va. (Disharoon Park)
Records: VCU 4-5, Virginia 8-1
Â
VCU and Virginia met on Friday in the opening game of a four-game season series, playing the first three-game weekend in the history of the matchup. The Cavaliers answered the Rams' early tie ballgame with a decisive three-run fourth inning, holding on for a 5-3 final.
Â
LEADING OFF:
- Elias Holbert tossed a career-long 3.0 innings, allowing no runs and just one hit while fanning three
- Hunter Gotschall set a Division I career high with five strikeouts in the start
- Nick Flores was the first Rams hitter to reach double digits, belting an RBI double for his 10th base knock of the year
- Trent Adelman and Jacob Lee drove in the other two runs for VCU on an RBI groundout and double to right-center field, respectively
- The Rams had 12 strikeouts on the mound, to the Hoos' 12
- UVA shortstop Eric Becker led the Cavaliers with three RBI and two hits
Â
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Virginia got on the board early with a pair of home runs in the first and third innings, working up a 2-0 lead
- Flores and Adelman each drove a Ram home to tie the game in the top of the fourth frame, but UVA had a three-run fourth inning on a pair of RBI base knocks to take the game back, 5-2
- Lee found the gap to drive Brendan Horne home and chip away at the Virginia lead
- In the home half of the inning, Holbert worked his way out of a bases-loaded jam to keep VCU's comeback hopes alive, but the Rams were unable to erase the two-run deficit in the final frame, falling 5-3
Â
UP NEXT
The Rams return to Disharoon Park on Saturday, Feb. 28, looking to even the weekend with Virginia. Then, VCU will return to The Diamond to open a nine-game homestand, with UVA on Sunday, March 1.