Virginia 3, Arkansas 0
Some of the biggest drama of the night came on one of the biggest questions of the night: Would Virginia coach Brian O'Connor let pitcher Nathan Kirby start the ninth inning?
He didn't. Instead he sent closer Nick Howard out there for the final half inning, and, after a hiccup, the junior sealed the deal for the Wahoos with a shutout of Arkansas, meaning UVa is now one win away from winning the Charlottesville Regional and hosting a super regional.
Kirby was the man of the night, though, going eight strong innings, striking out nine and allowing just one hit, in the fifth inning. It was a leadoff double and then Kirby had a throwing error when the next batter hit the ball to him, allowing the Razorbacks to get runners on third and second bases with no outs. Kirby struck out the next Hog, though, and then got outs two and three with a line out and ground out, respectively, expertly finding his way out of the most precarious position of the night for the UVa defense. The second most precarious spot came in the ninth inning when Arkansas led off with a single, allowing some to begin to question if O'Connor made the right move by not allowing Kirby to attempt to pitch a complete game. It didn't end up mattering, however, because the Wahoos got a double play and then a ground out to finish off the Hogs.
Virginia came out very aggressive with the bats. Branden Cogswell led off the bottom of the first with a single
but tried to stretch it into a double and was out on the tag. Daniel Pinero then reached on an error and Mike Papi sent Arkansas starting pitcher Trey Killian's offering into the right field stands for a 2-0 lead. Virginia struck again in the third when Kenny Towns' single drove in Papi. After that, the game settled into more of a pitchers' duel between Kirby and Arkansas reliever Dominic Taccolini, who pitched the final 4 2/3 innings for the Razorbacks.
Earlier in the day, Bucknell defeated Liberty, 5-2, ending the Flames' season. That means that the Bison and Razorbacks play at 1 p.m. Sunday. The winner faces UVa at 8 p.m. If UVa wins, it wins the regional. If UVa loses, the regional moves to a winner-move-on game at 7 p.m. Monday.
Some of the biggest drama of the night came on one of the biggest questions of the night: Would Virginia coach Brian O'Connor let pitcher Nathan Kirby start the ninth inning?
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| Nathan |
Kirby was the man of the night, though, going eight strong innings, striking out nine and allowing just one hit, in the fifth inning. It was a leadoff double and then Kirby had a throwing error when the next batter hit the ball to him, allowing the Razorbacks to get runners on third and second bases with no outs. Kirby struck out the next Hog, though, and then got outs two and three with a line out and ground out, respectively, expertly finding his way out of the most precarious position of the night for the UVa defense. The second most precarious spot came in the ninth inning when Arkansas led off with a single, allowing some to begin to question if O'Connor made the right move by not allowing Kirby to attempt to pitch a complete game. It didn't end up mattering, however, because the Wahoos got a double play and then a ground out to finish off the Hogs.
Virginia came out very aggressive with the bats. Branden Cogswell led off the bottom of the first with a single
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| Mike Papi |
Earlier in the day, Bucknell defeated Liberty, 5-2, ending the Flames' season. That means that the Bison and Razorbacks play at 1 p.m. Sunday. The winner faces UVa at 8 p.m. If UVa wins, it wins the regional. If UVa loses, the regional moves to a winner-move-on game at 7 p.m. Monday.
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