ETTRICK, Va. - - Redshirt freshman Trevor Nevill struck out seven and allowed two runs as the Hoover, Ala. native earned his first collegiate mound victory in UVa-Wise's 7-4 win over Virginia State Sunday.
UVa-Wise (6-12) struck early as redshirt freshman Josh Haga walked and later scored when junior Stuart Paz lined an RBI single in the top of the first. Later in the inning, freshman Matthew Branham knocked in sophomore David Thomas to stake Nevill to a 2-0 lead.
The early offense allowed Nevill to pound the strike zone as his first four outs all came via strikeout. After allowing a pair of base runners in the opening inning, Nevill would retire eight consecutive hitters until David Markins belted a solo homer in the fourth to make it a 2-1 game.
Virginia State (8-5) would later tie the game in the inning on a Michael Liburd RBI hit.
In the away fifth, the Cavaliers quickly regained the lead. Jordan Turner led off the frame and was hit by a pitch, a batter later the freshman scampered home on a run-scoring triple by Thomas. UVa-Wise would take back its two-run lead when an RBI groundout by Paz allowed Thomas to score.
Hank Banner's club played add-on in the sixth inning as sophomore Cal Bailey scored on a groundout by Haga and Turner singled in freshman Joey Skov.
The Cavs' seventh run of the game came when freshman Mathew Branham knocked in Paz in the top of the seventh.
Virginia State would get within three thanks to a two-run homer by Markins in the eighth but would be unable to get any closer as UVa-Wise ended its four-game losing streak.
Nevill's final pitching line read five innings, six hits, two runs, one walk and seven strikeouts. Sophomore Noah Collins added two innings of perfect relief while adding three strikeouts of his own. As a team, the Cavs struck out 12 Trojans in the win.
Paz and Branham each had three hits and two RBI to lead the UVa-Wise offense. Paz is now 8-10 with five RBI and two runs scored over the last two games. The back-to-back multi-hit games has allowed the Culpeper, Va. product to raise his batting average to .400 on the season.
The game was the 18th and final non-conference game of the season for the Cavs. UVa-Wise will next play on March 18th when Urbana University visits Stallard Field for the home and Mountain East Conference opener.
