WISE - - UVa-Wise used a complete game performance on the mound from Caleb Daniels in game one before scoring three runs in its final at bat in game two to post a doubleheader sweep over Charleston on Wednesday.
UVa-Wise (11-22, 8-17 MEC) fell behind 1-0 in the third inning of the day's opener when the visitors scored an unearned run without the benefit of a hit.
The lead was short lived for Charleston (14-19, 10-19) as Ty Lighton laid down a perfect bunt which allowed him to reach first and drive in Chaz Tanner who was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom half of the frame.
An inning later, the Cavaliers would take the lead on a two-out RBI single by Bryan Andrews. The run-scoring hit plated Jordan Olinger who had reached via a fielder's choice and moved up 90 feet when Tanner was walked.
The Golden Eagles tied the game in the top half of the fifth inning on an RBI groundout by Tim Rein. UVa-Wise immediately regained the lead in its half of the frame on an RBI double by Bill Steven to make the score 3-2.
The Cavs added an insurance run in the sixth inning when pinch runner J.T. Belotti scored all the way from second base on an infield single by Ty King.
Daniels would make the four runs hold up as he struck out six and walked one while allowing five hits in the complete game effort. Both runs scored off the Norton, Va. native were unearned as he won his first game as a Cavalier.
Game two would be a back and forth affair that featured three lead changes in three innings. Charleston's Ryan Foster opened the game with a bang when he drove a 3-2 pitch over the left field wall for a solo homer. It would be the first of four consecutive hits for the Golden Eagles who scored a pair of runs in the top of the first.
Foster would give his club a 3-0 lead one inning later when his RBI groundout allowed Mike Hooper to race home.
From that point, UVa-Wise starter Danny Bates would pitch three consecutive scoreless innings to give his offense a chance to get back in the game. His team did just that with a four-run fourth inning.
Michael McCollum led off the frame with a double and moved up a base on a single by Steven Klaiber. A hitter later, McCollum scampered home on a run-scoring hit by Tye Marshall. Olinger was then struck by a two-strike pitch to load the bases for Tanner. Tanner delivered a two-run single to score Marshall and Klaiber to knot the game at three. One hitter later, the Cavs gained the lead when Will Cline's groundout allowed Tanner to score.
The Cavs added to the lead in the fifth inning when Klaiber singled to centerfield to score Lighton. Charleston would not go down quietly as the guests scored four runs to take a 7-5 lead to the bottom of the sixth.
UVa-Wise would then provide the game's final lead change as Olinger doubled to lead off the inning, the Hazard, Ky. product scored one hitter later when Tanner singled to right field to cut the lead to one. Following an error by the Golden Eagles, Lighton plated Tanner with a base hit to tie the game. The Cavs would take the lead for good with two outs in the frame on a bloop single off the bat of Steven that allowed Lighton to score what would prove to be the winning run.
Klaiber came in to close out the contest and produced a 1-2-3 seventh inning to give his club the doubleheader sweep.
UVa-Wise will return to MEC play on Friday when the team visits Glenville State for the start of a four-game set.
