March 7, 2009

Box Score | Box Score in PDF Format

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Four different Wake Forest players hit home runs, but it wasn't enough as Virginia held off the Demon Deacons' comeback bid on Saturday night, winning 8-6 at Wake Forest Baseball Park in front of a season high crowd of 1,308 fans.

Virginia improves to 11-0 and 2-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play, while Wake Forest drops to 6-3 and 0-2 in league competition.

Mike Murray, Evan Ocheltree, Carlos Lopez and Ryan Semeniuk each went deep for Wake Forest in the game. Murray led the way offensively for Wake Forest with a 3-for-4 performance, two RBIs and a run scored. Lopez also drove in two runs while going 2-for-3 at the plate. Semeniuk and Weldon Woodall each had two hits in four official at-bats.

Virginia hurler Andrew Carraway picked up his third win of the season in as many starts, allowing two runs on four hits in five innings of work. Brad Kledzik fell to 1-2 on the year, giving up six runs on 10 hits in five innings. Matt Packer threw two scoreless innings for the Cavaliers to pick up his first save of the season

Trailing 7-6 in the bottom of the eighth inning, Wake Forest had a great opportunity to tie the game. Woodall led off the inning with a double to right center and moved to third after a perfect sacrifice bunt from Austin Stadler. With the tying run 90 feet away, Packer got Lopez and Bentley Heyman to strike out swinging to end the threat.

Virginia added an insurance run in the top of the ninth. Danny Hultzen led off the inning with a single to left and moved to third on Dan Grovatt's single to left center on a hit and run. Wake Forest pitcher Phil Negus nearly wiggled out of the jam as he got Steven Proscia to strike out swinging for the first out of the inning and picked off Grovatt at first base for the second out. John Hicks was able to drive in Hultzen on a bad hop single to third to make the score 8-6.

The Demon Deacons again nearly mounted a rally in the bottom of the ninth. Semeniuk led off the inning with a double that plugged the right-center field gap. Dustin Hood grounded out to short and Shane Kroker flied out to right for the first two outs of the inning. Murray walked to put runners on first and second with two out. With Ocheltree at the plate, Wake Forest attempted a double steal, but Semeniuk was thrown out at third to end the game.

Wake Forest jumped out early, scoring a run in the bottom of the first. Hood led off the game with a walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Kroker. Murray singled to center to score Hood and give the Deacs a 1-0 edge.

Virginia evened the score at one with a run in the top of the third. Jarrett Parker singled to start the inning and stole second. Phil Gosselin singled to center field to send Parker to third. Hultzen hit a sacrifice fly to left to score Parker and tie the game.

The Cavaliers got the lead for the first time with three runs in the fourth. Tyler Cannon started the inning with a double down the right field line and scored on a double from Hicks. A sacrifice bunt by David Coleman moved Hicks to third. Corey Hunt scored Hicks on a sacrifice fly to left for UVa's third run of the game. Parker closed the inning with his third home run of the year to make the score 4-1.

Virginia added two more runs in the fifth. With one out, Grovatt and Proscia walked. After Cannon lined out to left field, Hicks and Coleman hit RBI singles to give the Cavaliers a 6-1 edge.

Wake Forest answered with a run in the bottom of the fifth. Semeniuk led off the inning with the first home run of his career, a blast over the left-field fence to cut the lead to 6-2.

Virginia put the lead back at five in the top of the sixth. Parker led off the inning with a walk and stole second. Gosselin singled to right-center field to score Parker and make the score 7-2.

The Demon Deacons got back in the game in the bottom of the sixth. Ocheltree hit a leadoff home run to trim the advantage to 7-3. Woodall followed with a single to center. After Stadler struck out, Lopez cleared the bases with his team-best fifth home run of the season over the barrier in left field to make the score 7-5.

Wake Forest got within one run in the bottom of the seventh. After the first two batters were retired, Murray hit his first home run of the season, an opposite field homer over the left-center field fence for Wake's sixth run of the game.

Wake Forest and Virginia close out the three-game series on Sunday at 1 p.m. (ET). Freshman right-handed pitcher Michael Dimock (0-0, 3.68) will take the mound for the Demon Deacons, while the Cavaliers have yet to announce a starter for the series finale.