The University of Richmond baseball team downed No. 23 University of Virginia March 20.
Having lost 19 of the last 20 matchups against UVA entering the day, the Spiders’ 6-2 victory was as dominant as it was unexpected. It took a quiet first inning – with one hit for UR and three straight outs for UVA – before the Spiders seized control.
Senior outfielder D.J. Pacheco led the Spiders into the second inning with a single, and although picked off, junior infielder Michael Elko and senior infielder Connor Larson were not far behind, with each having been walked.
First-year outfielder Trevor Dosenbach’s double brought home both Elko and Larson to put UR up 2-0 with two outs as UVA responded with a pitching change. It did little to stop the Spiders’ momentum however, as graduate outfielder Aaron Whitley was immediately walked.
Both Dosenbach and Whitley scored off a double by junior infielder Jordan Jaffe, pushing UR’s advantage to 4-0 by the end of the second inning.
The Cavaliers found no quick answer, recording just one hit through the fourth inning as the Spiders piled on two more runs, highlighted by a home run by Pacheco to start the fifth inning with the lead now 6-0.
UVA finally responded with a home run of their own to avoid the shutout at the bottom of the fifth. Another run batted in at the bottom of the sixth closed the gap further, but not enough as the Spiders coasted to a statement upset, beating the Cavaliers for the first time since the 2018 season.
The win boosted UR to an impressive 19-2 resume, for the Spiders’ hottest start since the 2002 season when they reached the Super Regionals of the College World Series. UVA plunged to 12-7 with the loss.
Atlantic 10 conference play continued with the Spiders’ next matchup, a triple-header at Saint Joseph’s University, the first of which is set for March 21 at 3 p.m. In its March 21 game, the Spiders fell to the Hawks 3-5. Prior to Friday's matchup, the Spiders were 12-17 against the Hawks since 2006, and won the four of the last ten meetings.
Contact sports editor Scott Valentine at scott.valentine@richmond.edu
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