The Cavalier daily :: Tuesday, March 30, 1971 :: University of Virginia Library

Virginia's undefeated
baseball team scored a double
victory on Sunday afternoon,
using power hitting in the first
game and tight pitching in the
second to defeat East Carolina
9-5 and 1-0 in a pair of
extra-inning contests.

The Wahoos pasted
All-Southern Conference
righthander Mike Hastings for
all their nine runs and fourteen
hits in the opener but had to
rely on a seventh inning solo
homer by first-yearman Steve
Sroba to send the game into
the additional stanzas.

Sroba, an outfielder who is
having an exceptionally good spring
at the plate, had two singles to go
with his homerun and, along with
centerfielder Robin Marvin, who
tripled twice from his lead off spot,
and catcher Sammy Beale, who also
homered, was the batting star in the
first game.

Winning pitcher Mike Judkins, a
former infielder, came through in
the ninth inning with a two-run
single that followed close on the
heels of a similar blow by Beale to
win the game for Virginia. Judkins
pitched perfect ball during his
two-inning stay on the mound and
was able relief for starter Rick
Spigone and Dave LaCross.

Pitchers Ineffective

Spigone and LaCross were both
relatively ineffective as Pirate
batters pounded the pair for five
runs and fifteen base hits in seven
innings. Spigone left the game
under duress in the sixth trailing
5-3 and seemed in line for a loss
until Sroba's homer took him off
the hook.

ECU'S Hastings went all the way
and absorbed the loss. Both
Virginia and East Carolina were
charged with two errors afield.

Wahoo Captain Ed Kihm was
the star of the nightcap as he
matched four-hitters with Pirate
left hander Hal Baird. The game
remained scoreless through
regulation with the Cavaliers finally
breaking the tie and winning with
an unearned run in the visitors'
eighth.

Dan Scores

Terry Dan reached base on an
error with one out in that inning
and was immediately wild-pitched
to second by Baird. Mike Cubbage
then slapped a hard single to right,
enabling Dan to advance to third
from where he was promptly plated
by a Dave Bratt sacrifice fly.

This was a game for pitchers and
not hitters, though, and the
performance by Kihm, who went
the entire eight innings, was most
encouraging. The football-playing
righthander has been bothered in
past seasons by arm trouble and
this year's Cavalier squad will be
greatly strengthened if Kihm can
perform at top efficiency all season.

Kihm Impressive

In his last start against Onconta
State on a cold afternoon in
Lambeth Field, Kihm registered
thirteen strikeouts but left the
game with the score tied after the
sixth inning. Brian Hioburn claimed
the win in relief but Kihm, who
allowed only one earned run, was
most impressive. He fanned seven
Carolinians on Sunday and was
supported well by his fielders, who
played errorless ball.

East Carolina was only guilty of
one error, the fatal misplay of
Dan's grounder in the eighth, but
nevertheless suffered their second
loss of the day. The Pirates' record
fell to 3-5 while the Cavs boosted
theirs to four wins without a loss.

The 'Hoos then bid a reluctant
farewell to ECU and travelled on to
picturesque Davidson, N.C. for a
scheduled two game series with
another Southern Conference team,
the Wildcats of Davidson College.

Brindle Starts

The series opened yesterday
with Virginia righthander Steve
Brindle, last seen in a winner's role
against Massachusetts, attempting
to better his record to 2-0. Brindle
will probably have as his
battery-mate the hard-hitting Beale
but one of the benefits of Sunday's
double feature, necessitated when a
Saturday game was rained out, was
the opportunity given to first year
catcher Al Bracht, who
backstopped Kihm's four hitter.

The Cavs also demonstrated that
they have the pitching depth to
handle the large amount of
doubleheaders that seem, whether
scheduled or not, to always crop up
late in the season. In the span of
their winning streak the Wahoos
have employed seven pitchers with
only Captain Kihm seeing action
more than once.

Face Maine Tomorrow

The Cavaliers return home to
Lambeth Field after today's
windup game at Davidson and will
waste no time getting back in
action. The Black Bears of the
University of Maine, another
northern team taking a spring
sojourn through the sunny South,
will be their guests for a 2:30 single
game tomorrow afternoon.