CARY, N.C. - - UVa-Wise erupted for six runs in the fifth inning of game one to cruise to a 9-2 season opening victory before senior left-hander Nathan Hatmaker came up two outs shy of a no-hitter in a 4-0 game two victory as Hank Banner's club swept St. Augustine's Saturday afternoon.
St. Augustine's (0-4) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead behind a pair of walks, an RBI groundout and a wild pitch.
The score would remain unchanged until the fifth inning when UVa-Wise (2-0) erupted for six runs. David Thomas got the visitors on the board with an RBI groundout to score Jordan Turner who walked to lead off the frame.
A Stuart Paz base hit tied the game as Brett Yates raced home; the Cavs took the lead for good when senior Matt Wright knocked in Paz with an infield single.
Banner's club tacked on three more runs on a pair of errors to take a 6-2 lead going to the bottom of the fourth.
Freshman right-hander Nate Thompson ended any hope of a Falcons comeback by tossing 3.1 innings of three-hit baseball to earn his first collegiate mound victory in his collegiate debut.
The Cavs put the game out of reach with a three-run sixth as Pax and Josh Haga had an RBI sacrifice fly before UVa-Wise scored another unearned run on a St. Augustine's error.
Yates and Thomas finished with two hits each in the season opener while Haga picked up a pair of walks and added the sacrifice RBI.
Game two belonged to Hatmaker's left arm. The Harrogate, Tenn. native fanned 10 batters and did not allow his first hit until one out in the seventh inning.
While Hatmaker was in full control, the UVa-Wise offense staked the senior to an early 2-0 lead after the top of the first inning.
Thompson lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to score Haga who walked to lead off the game. The Cavs scored their second run on a passed ball when Thomas raced home.
Thomas knocked in UVa-Wise's third run when he singled in Turner in the top of the second.
The early runs were more than enough for Hatmaker as he retired 13 consecutive batters at one point in the game.
The team's fourth run came on an RBI groundout by Haga to score Joey Skov.
St. Augustine's got it's only hit of the game with one out in the seventh only to see sophomore Alex Dobry come out of the bullpen and induce a game-ending 6-4-3 double play.
Hatmaker and Dobry combined to allow just two baserunners in the win. Thomas was the only player in the game to post a multi-hit effort as he lined two more hits to finish the doubleheader with four hits.
The four game series will wrap up tomorrow at 1 p.m. with a doubleheader. Fans can follow the action live on @UVaWiseCavs on Twitter.
