Three Homers Not Enough for Cavaliers in 7-5 Loss to Hokies

Three long balls were not quite enough for the Cavaliers to avoid losing a home ACC series to the Hokies for the first time ever.

No. 11 Virginia (33-12, 14-10 ACC) hit three home runs in the game and led 4-0, but Virginia Tech (31-10, 14-8 ACC) scored seven unanswered runs and went on to beat UVA 7-5 to take the series on Sunday afternoon at Disharoon Park.

First pitch was moved up to 11am from its original 1pm start time due to forecasted rainstorms in the area, but there ended up being a brief rain delay in the middle of the sixth inning with the game tied at 4-4.

The Cavaliers could not have asked for a better start. On the mound, Jake Berry was spectacular through the first third of the game, needing just 15 pitches to get through the first and second innings and yielding just one baserunner through the first three innings.

The UVA bats did their part early in the game as well, as Alex Tappen hit a two-run home run to left field to put the Cavaliers up 2-0 in the first. The following inning, Chris Newell worked a 3-2 count and then crushed a ball over the blue wall in center field for a 446-foot home run, his second homer of the series and tenth of the season.

WOAH! Chris Newell clears the "Blue Monster" in CF!

🚀 109 MPH
📏446 FT

3-0 UVA in the B2

📺: ACCNX | #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/t6txhaxT7O
— Virginia Baseball (@UVABaseball) May 1, 2022

Ethan Anderson worked a walk after that, spelling the end of the brief outing for Virginia Tech starter Jordan Geber. Max Cotier singled off of Hokie reliever Henry Weycker and then Griff O'Ferrall hit a sacrifice fly to score Anderson from third to make it 4-0 in favor of the Cavaliers.

Weycker was phenomenal on the mound for the Hokies after that inning and worked all the way into the sixth inning without allowing Virginia to score and holding the UVA bats to just two hits in 4.2 innings of work.

For as dominant as Jake Berry was through three innings, it all came undone in the fourth and fifth innings. Berry surrendered a leadoff double to Gavin Cross and then walked back-to-back batters to load the bases. Eduardo Malinowski flied out to left field to bring Cross home for Virginia Tech's first run of the game. Cade Hunter then delivered an RBI single to make it 4-2.

With Berry's pitch count still very low, Brian O'Connor left him in the game and to his credit, he worked his way out of the jam, getting the next two outs to end the inning with no further damage.

More trouble awaited the 6'10" lefty in the fifth inning, as Nick Biddison and Gavin Cross hit back-to-back singles and then Tanner Schobel hit an RBI double. Jack Hurley flied out to center field, deep enough to score Cross from third to tie the game.

Berry was lifted in for Jay Woolfolk, who worked through the rest of the fifth inning and then the sixth inning, before the game was paused for a rain delay.

In the top of the seventh, Matt Wyatt entered the game for the Cavaliers and gave up a solo home run to Gavin Cross to give Virginia Tech a 5-4 lead. Wyatt put two more runners on base on a walk and a single and then Cade Hunter recorded his second RBI of the game with a base hit to right field to score Tanner Schobel. Dylan Bowers replaced Wyatt, but gave up an RBI single to Lucas Donlon to put the Hokies ahead 7-4.

The Cavaliers finally stopped the run in the bottom half of the seventh as Alex Tappen smoked a ball over the wall in left field for his second home run of the game.

We'll take one back! Second 💣 of the day for Alex Tappen!

📺: ACCNX | #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/mg1IgkcR9Y
— Virginia Baseball (@UVABaseball) May 1, 2022

Virginia Tech pitcher Graham Firoved gave up that homer to Tappen, but otherwise had little trouble working through the UVA lineup to secure the victory for the Hokies. Firoved retired seven of the next eight batters and was credited with the win as he clinched Virginia Tech's first-ever road ACC series win against Virginia in Charlottesville.

Virginia, now 33-12 overall and 14-10 in the ACC, plays against VCU on Tuesday at 6pm. The Cavaliers have next weekend off.

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