University of Virginia Library

Cubbage Homer Keys Win

Baseballers Overwhelm UMass, 7-4

By John Markon
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

A seventh inning two-run homer
by Mike Cubbage powered the
Virginia baseball team to its second
win in as many starts yesterday, 7-4
over the University of
Massachusetts.

The game, played at Lambeth
Field under moderately chilly
conditions, started off poorly for
the Wahoos as UMass was able to
parlay two singles, a stolen base and
a double into two first inning runs.
A triple by Cavalier leftfielder
Terry Dan and a passed ball charged
to UMass catcher Mike Sawyer
made the score 2-1 after the first.

While Virginia starter Steve
Brindle struggled through two tense
innings Tom White, UMass' 6-6
sophomore southpaw, was shelled
for three more runs in the second as
the Cavs took the lead. Jon
Williams drove home Steve Sroba
and Billy Hall with a double and,
after an error that allowed Robbin
Marvin to reach base, Hall pulled a
delayed steal of home on a play
that involved Marvin first breaking
for second and drawing a throw.

Massachusetts scored an
unearned run in the fifth without
making a hit as a walk, an error on
a likely double-play ball by Hall,
and a wild pitch by Brindle
tightened the score at 4-3.

Brindle pitched six fairly good
innings, was pinch-hit for by
Charlie Williams and gave way to
Hunter Hollar in the seventh. Hollar
escaped damage in his first inning
only after a strong throw by Dan
held a base runner on third after a
two-single. This allowed Hollar to
strike out Charlie Manley, the last
man, with some tantalizingly slow
breaking balls.

Virginia put the game away in
the seventh when, after Dan drew a
disputed base on balls, Cubbage
poled a long shot over the fence in
straight-away rightfield. The
homerun was Cubbage's first hit of
the young season.

The Virginia scoring didn't stop
there, however, as Dave Bratt
walked and Sammy Beale,
perpetrator of an amazing catch of
a foul fly against the fence in the
second, singled him to second.
Sroba drove home Bratt with a
double, closing out the Virginia
attack for the afternoon.

UMass scored an unearned run
off Hollar in the ninth when
Manley's fly to right was dropped
by Sroba allowing Jack Conroy to
score. The game ended seconds
later, though, when Manley was
picked off first base after taking
too wide a turn.

Virginia, along with their seven
runs, made eight hits, committed
three errors and left seven runners
on base. The frustrated Redmen
left eleven men stranded, had seven
hits, and were guilty of two fielding
faux pas.

Also frustrated was Cavalier
centerfielder Robbin Marvin who
twice backed the UMass leftfielder
to fence with long drives only to
see them both hauled in.

The next action for the
undefeated Wahoo hard ballers will
be this weekend on the road against
East Carolina for two games. The
next home contest will be
Wednesday afternoon at 2:30
against another New England team,
the University of Maine.