Men’s Baseball: Tribe tops no. 16 U.Va. 6-5

p. Heading into the season, several non-conference games stood apart on the Tribe’s schedule, each a major matchup against a ranked ACC foe that would allow the team to measure their progress against top competition. After falling flat in the first of those contests against then no. 2 University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill in early March, the College converted brilliantly in their second opportunity, picking up a marquee win while upsetting no. 16 University of Virginia 6-5 Wednesday in Charlottesville.
Sophomore pitcher Cody Winslow held the Cavaliers to three runs over five strong innings, while juniors centerfielder Ben Guez and third baseman Tyler Stampone knocked in a pair of runs each to secure the victory.
Entering the top of the third locked in a scoreless tie, Guez strode to the plate with two runners on and one out and plated both runs, pulling a double down the leftfield line to supply the Tribe with an early 2-0 advantage and stretching the his hit streak to a season-high 32 games.
After U.Va. pulled ahead with three runs in the bottom of the fourth, the College struck again as Stampone blasted a two-run home run followed by junior Mike Sheridan’s RBI single in the fifth. A frame later, junior second baseman James Williamson then drove in junior shortstop Lanny Stanfield with an RBI double to right, pushing the Tribe’s lead to 6-3.
The Cavaliers added lone runs in the sixth and eighth innings off relievers freshman Logan Billbrough and sophomore Tyler Landry, before senior Pat Kantakevich slammed the door in the ninth, striking out two batters while recording his eighth save of the season.
The win pushes the Tribe’s record to 30-12 overall as the squad has won 14 of their last 16 games. The team will look to continue that momentum this weekend, traveling to Towson University for a three game set against their CAA rivals and looking to maintain their third place position in the league.