May 14, 2009

The Cavalier baseball team clubbed three solo home runs, but it was not enough to top Virginia Tech on Thursday night. The Hokies used a solo home run of their own to down Virginia, 5-4, in ten innings in the two teams' series opener.

Virginia struck first with a Jarrett Parker solo home run in the second, but saw the Hokies come back and build a 3-2 lead. Down 4-2 in the sixth, Dan Grovatt hit a round-tripper to pull the Cavs to within one, and Franco Valdes tied the game with a solo blast of his own in the top of the ninth. Tied at four, the game went to extra innings.

John Hicks doubled with two outs in the top of the tenth, but Virginia could not force him home. With one out in the bottom of the inning, the Hokies' Austin Wates stepped up and slammed a game winning walk-off solo home run to give Virginia Tech the 5-4 win.

Tyler Wilson took the loss on the mound for Virginia, falling to 6-3 on the season. He tossed 3.1 innings of good baseball, up until the Wates home run. Matt Packer started on the mound for the Cavaliers in place of originally scheduled started Danny Hultzen.

The two teams will resume their series Friday evening at 5:30pm.