VCU Baseball Stays Hot With 5-3 Win Over Virginia

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The VCU baseball team continued rolling on Tuesday night with a 5-3 win over Virginia at The Diamond in Richmond. The Rams scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning off just one hit and never looked back. Sophomore Jaden Griffin (2-0) earned the win in relief for VCU while Virginia starter Griff McGarry (0-5) took the loss.

McGarry’s nightmare season continued as he failed to record an out and took his fifth loss of the season. All five batters he faced in the first inning reached base; he walked three, hit one batter, and allowed another to reach on a fielder’s choice. One walk and the hit-by-pitch came with the bases loaded. McGarry, who’s coming off a junior season in which he posted a 1.35 ERA and perfect 3-0 record, had his ERA fall to 8.10 on the season.

The Wahoos went down early but fought back and were on the cusp of tying the game in the eighth. Down 4-3, they had the tying run on third — Brendan Rivoli — with one out but ultimately stranded him. They also stranded runners in scoring position in the fifth and seventh innings. In the top of the ninth, the Hoos went quietly, with VCU ending the game on a 6-3 double play.

On a brighter note for UVA, pitcher Zach Messinger struck out 10 and allowed just two hits in 4.1 innings of work after taking over for McGarry.

The Rams, who only had six hits in the game, got insurance runs in the sixth and eighth innings. Catcher Hunter Vay, the only Ram with multiple hits, hit a solo shot in the sixth, while Cooper Benzin scored on a throwing error in the eighth.

VCU (22-14) has now won six consecutive games. Their weekend series vs. rival Richmond has been postponed so the next game on their schedule will be Tuesday, April 27th at home vs. VMI. The Rams have shot up the RPI with their hot streak and finished last week at No. 52.

Virginia (17-18) fell below .500 with the loss (their third straight) and has work to do if they want to get off the bubble. Luckily, three of their final four series are against bottom-rung ACC programs. This weekend, they’ll host Duke in a three-game series, beginning with a 6:00 p.m. game on Friday.

VCU and Virginia will have another meeting this season on Tuesday, May 4th in Charlottesville.