GREENSBORO, N.C.—
The ACC Baseball Tournament continued Thursday with the University of Virginia playing in their opening game.Brian O'Connor and the Cavs opening defense of last year's ACC Tournament title at New Bridge Bank Park in Greensboro.
Starter Branden Kline did his part on the hill, recording the strikeout here. Kline worked 7 innings today, allowing just one run.
It was scoreless in the third when Pulaski County product Jared King gets the Wahoos on the board, ripping an RBI single to left field. Branden Cogswell rounds third and heads for home to put UVA on top 1-nothing.
Clemson tied it at 1 with a solo homer in the 6th before Jon McGibbon grounds to short in the 8th. Virginia's Chris Taylor boots it on the error and the Tigers took a 2-1 lead.
In the bottom of the frame, Taylor with a chance to redeem himself at the plate. He gets hit by the pitch with the bases loaded, forcing in Mitchell Shiflett with the tying run to make it 2-all.
Still in the 8th, and the bases still jacked. Cogswell draws a walk, and Nate Irving strolls in with the game winner.
The Cavaliers managed just five hits and stranded 12 base runners. They also made two errors that could have proven costly, but in the end they did just enough to get past the Tigers.
“I’m just proud of our guys that we hung in there,” Virginia coach Brian O’Connor said. “This has been a team that has been very opportunistic. We never really pounded teams or put teams away a lot but we've always done what we needed to and I'm really proud of Branden.
“I made it a little hard on myself today but at the same time give credit to our defense,” Virginia starting pitcher Branden Kline said. “There’s a lot of balls that Clemson hit hard and luckily the defense was there to pick me up. I don't always hit my spots and I'm a little wild but I know I've got a great defense behind me to pick me up if I do make a mistake.”
Starting pitcher Branden Kline pitched 119 pitches and went 7 strong innings, setting the Cavaliers up for their Friday morning date with Georgia Tech -- a must win if they hope to reach Sunday's championship game.
