Haseley & Sborz
Carry Virginia over Vandy
In Omaha, Neb., Adam Haseley and Josh Sborz
combined on a shutout as Virginia blanked Vanderbilt 3-0
Tuesday evening to even the Championship Series at one game
apiece at the 2015 College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park.
The Commodores (51-20) and the Cavaliers
(43-24) will play for the national championship on Wednesday
at 7 p.m. CT. It would be the second consecutive title for
Vanderbilt and the first for Virginia.
Haseley pitched five
scoreless innings in his first start since May 23 with four
hits, three walks and one strikeout.
Sborz (7-2) worked the
final four frames with three hits, two walks and three
strikeouts.
Rhett Wiseman had a leadoff single in the top
of the sixth for the Commodores to end the night for Haseley.
Sborz surrendered an infield hit to Dansby Swanson to move
Wiseman. Zander Wiel flew out to center and Bryan Reynolds hit
into an inning-ending double play to keep the contest
scoreless.
The Cavaliers snapped the scoreless tie in the
bottom of the sixth. With two away, Pavin Smith had a single
to left. Kevin Doherty hit a ball up the middle that hit the
second base bag and caromed into right center, allowing Smith
to advance to second. Joe McCarthy reached on an error to load
the bases. Ernie Clement singled to left, plating Smith with
the game’s first run. Thomas Woodruff delivered a two-run
single to center, driving in Doherty and McCarthy to give
Virginia a 3-0 advantage.
Vanderbilt put two on with one away in the
seventh before a strikeout and a flyout ended the threat. The
Commodores put their first two on in the ninth to bring the
tying run to the plate. Sborz got a strikeout, a flyout and a
strikeout to end the contest. In the game, Vanderbilt went 0
for 10 with runners in scoring position.
Vandy starter Philip
Pfeifer (6-5) suffered the loss, going 5.2 innings with eight
hits, three unearned runs, one walk and six strikeouts.
The bottom two hitters in the Virginia lineup
produced the most offense. Clement, hitting in the eight-hole,
went 3 for 4 with one RBI, while No. 9 hitter Woodruff was 3
for 4 with two RBI.
Virginia will attempt to become the first ACC
program to win a national title since Wake Forest in 1955.
