Baseball Rams Past Fordham, 7-3

Courtesy: David Petkofsky/UVa Media Relations Jared King went 2-for-3 in the UVa win over Fordham.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia baseball team received a strong starting pitching outing from Andrew Carraway (Sr., Marietta, Ga.) in a 7-3 victory over Fordham Saturday morning at Davenport Field.

Carraway tossed eight innings to improve to 2-0 this year. He allowed three runs (one earned), four hits and two walks while striking out five. Robert Poutier (Sr., Yorktown, Va.) pitched a scoreless ninth inning.

Brando Casalicchio (0-1) took the loss for Fordham after starting and allowing five runs (four earned), four hits and six walks in 3.2 innings.

Virginia (8-0) totaled 10 hits in the game, getting three from Steven Proscia (Fr., Suffern, N.Y.) and two each from Jared King (Fr., Radford, Va.) and Keith Werman (Fr., Vienna, Va.). King also scored twice and drove in a run.

The game certainly was not a masterpiece. Virginia committed a season-high five errors and left a dozen runners on base. Fordham had three miscues and walked nine batters.

Both teams ranked among the nation’s top five in stolen bases last year and lived up to that billing Saturday. The Cavaliers stole eight bases in eight attempts, while the Rams swiped three bags.

The Cavaliers gave up two runs in an ugly first inning. UVa committed three errors which led to both runs being unearned. Both runs scored after a Fordham double steal. Catcher John Hicks (Fr., Sandy Hook, Va.) threw behind the runner at second base, Mike Mobbs, and the ball caromed into center field. Danny Leach scored from third on the play, and Mobbs scampered home when center fielder Jarrett Parker (So., Stafford, Va.) overran the ball.

UVa  bounced back with two runs in the bottom of the first. The first two batters were retired before Phil Gosselin (So., West Chester, Pa.) drew a walk. He advanced on a Dan Grovatt (So., Tabernacle, N.J.) single and scored on a Proscia infield single. Grovatt and Proscia combined for a double steal, and Grovatt scored when John Barr’s (So., Ivyland, Pa.) grounder was booted.

The Cavaliers added a pair of runs in the second inning. King led off with a single and stole second. Werman walked, and both runners advanced on a Parker sacrifice. Tyler Cannon (Jr., Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) walked to load the bases, and Gosselin followed with a walk to force in a run. Grovatt then hit a sacrifice fly to score Werman and give UVa a 4-2 lead.

UVa tacked on a run in the fourth inning on a Cannon RBI single and another in the fifth inning on a King single. The Cavaliers got their final run in the seventh on a Danny Hultzen (Fr., Bethesda, Md.) fielder’s choice to score King.

Fordham (1-5) scored its third run in the eighth inning on a Bobby DiNardo single to bring in Leach.

Virginia will conclude its weekend at noon Sunday against Delaware. Please note the change from the original game time.