No. 16 Baseball Tops Siena to Sweep Saturday Games

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia baseball team tied the program’s best-ever start to a season as it bested Siena, 7-4, Saturday afternoon at Davenport Field. With their ninth-consecutive win to open the season, the Cavaliers matched the 1924 team for the best start to a season in school history.

Virginia starting pitcher Andrew Carraway (Jr., Marietta, Ga.) threw five innings, allowing three runs (two earned), eight hits and one walk while striking out six as he improved to 2-0 this season. Michael Schwimer (Sr., Alexandria, Va.) pitched the ninth inning and recorded his third save. Craig Marcellus (0-2) took the loss for Siena (0-6). He went 4.2 innings, giving up six earned runs, eight hits and one walk while fanning two.

Phil Gosselin (Fr., West Chester, Pa.) went 3-for-4 for Virginia, while Ryan Smith (So., Waldorf, Md.) and Tyler Cannon (So., Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) each had two hits. Jeremy Farrell (Jr., Westlake, Ohio) added a two-run home run for Virginia.

For the first time this season, the Cavaliers faced a deficit after Siena’s Jacob Willis homered off the left-field foul pole in the first inning. The Saints pushed the lead to 2-0 in the second inning on an RBI double by Moises Rivera.

Virginia got on the scoreboard in the second as Gosselin stole home as part of a double steal with John Barr (Fr., Ivyland, Pa.). The Saints got the run back in the fourth on a run-scoring groundout by Michael Ambury.

Virginia knotted the score at three in the fourth as Farrell hit a two-run home run to right field to bring David Coleman (Fr., Richmond, Va.) home. The blast was Farrell’s second of the doubleheader.

UVa broke ahead in the fifth inning. Miclat singled to lead off and scored from first when Cannon tripled to the left-center field gap. One out later, Coleman hit a sacrifice fly to plate Cannon and give the Cavaliers a 5-3 lead. With two outs, Farrell singled, stole second and moved to third on a throwing error. He scored when Gosselin singled to left, giving Virginia a 6-3 lead.

Virginia added a run in the seventh inning, as pinch hitter Dan Grovatt (Fr., Tabernacle, N.J.) singled to score Gosselin.

Siena cut into the lead in the eighth inning against UVa reliever Neal Davis (So., Baltimore, Md.) on a Nick Messinger single, but Kevin Arico (Fr., Flemington, N.J.) came on and induced Jason DeFilippo to ground into an inning-ending double play.

The Cavaliers wrap up their 10-game homestand Sunday, taking on Cornell at 3 p.m. Cornell and Siena will meet in the day’s first game at 11 a.m.