Virginia crushes Bucknell; Arkansas edges Liberty

Virginia 10, Bucknell 1

The Cavaliers crushed the Bison (someone on Twitter said their radio people said "Bisons," so whichever you prefer, I guess) on Friday in Game 1 of the Charlottesville Regional. UVa scored three runs in each of the first three innings to put Bucknell in a hole then blew the game open in the sixth inning with seven runs. The Bison eeked out their only run in the eighth inning.

They did not score, however, on starting pitcher Artie Lewicki, who threw a really nice game for the Wahoos. The senior went seven innings, striking out five while allowing just three hits. He got into a little trouble, walking two in the first inning before pitching coach Karl Kuhn came out and settled down his player. Bucknell rarely threatened after that until it scored in the eighth inning off of reliever Connor Jones. Alec Bettinger pitched a very clean ninth for the 'Hoos.

On offense, Virginia racked up 11 hits while four Bison errors also helped the Cavs build their lead. John La Prise went 3 for 4 with two runs, Derek Fisher had two RBI on his only hit, and Mike Papi went 3 for 5 with an RBI and a run. Brandon Downes, Kenny Towns, and Branden Cogswell also had RBI.

In the second game of the night, Arkansas nipped Liberty, 3-2. The Flames scored first in the second but the Razorbacks tied in the bottom of the second then scored two in the fourth. LU got one in the fifth but couldn't score the rest of the way. Arkansas' Chris Oliver got the win with five innings of work, four hits, two earned runs and four strikeouts. Brian Anderson led the offense, going 2 for 3 with a home run and two RBI. UVa faces Arkansas on Saturday at 8 p.m. The Cavaliers' Nathan Kirby is expected to toe the mound against the Hogs' Trey Killian.

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