BECKLEY, W.Va. - - It had been 2,569 days since UVa-Wise last won a postseason game. That changed Friday afternoon as a seven-run seventh inning propelled the Cavaliers to a 19-14 victory over Fairmont State in the 2019 Mountain East Conference Baseball Tournament at Linda K. Epling Stadium.
Senior David Thomas was the offensive sparkplug for the Cavaliers as the right fielder knocked in six runs to lead the high scoring attack.
UVa-Wise (26-26) sent 12 hitters to the plate in the decisive seventh frame. Hank Banner's squad entered the inning trailing 10-9 but after Fairmont State (25-25) recorded the first out of the inning the Cavs had the next seven hitters reach base.
During the big scoring frame, freshman Bret Roberts had a three-RBI double, senior Brett Yates had a run-scoring single, Thomas knocked in a run and Matthew Branham plated two with a two-out run-scoring base hit.
The Cavs would tack on three more runs in the top of the ninth to hold off the Fighting Falcons. In that inning, Ethan Fletcher, Roberts and Tyler Blaum had an RBI.
Fairmont State would score a run in the home half of the ninth but Tyler Hayes was able to make the lead hold needing just nine pitches to seal the victory.
FSU built a 7-2 lead thanks to a six-run second inning. Chris Green had an RBI single, Kevin Ayala plated a run on a sacrifice fly, EJ Tricket knocked in two with a double and Zach Musgrove knocked in a run with a double.
UVa-Wise spent the rest of the afternoon chipping away. The Cavs knocked out Falcons' starter Will Brown in the fifth with a five-run frame as Thomas knocked in two, Yates had an RBI, Tristan Peccerelli had a run-scoring hit and Dawson Cagle lined an RBI double.
FSU countered with a two-run blast off the bat Tyler Skidmore to take a 9-7 lead to the sixth inning only to see Thomas tie the game back up with a two-run double a half inning later.
The Falcons continued the see-saw affair as Musgrove doubled home a run to make it a 10-9 game.
In total, the game featured 40 hits, nine walks and four hit batsman. UVa-Wise tallied 17 hits with seven Cavs posting a multi-hit game.
Roberts finished 3-for-5 with four RBI while Thomas tallied three hits in five trips as part of his six RBI day. Blaum, Branham and Yates each went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI each while Fletcher was 2-for-5 with four runs scored.
The Cavs used four hurlers in the contest and while none went unshaved in the run category, the quartet did not issue a walk. Sophomore RJ Vanvickle earned the mound win as he tossed 2 1/3 innings to improve to 5-6 on the year.
FSU posted 21 hits with Musgrove, Tyler Hill and Green having three hits each. The loss was pinned on Sam Aloi who surrendered a pair of runs in 1 1/3 innings of work. The Fighting Falcons used eight pitchers in the game who combined to throw 189 pitches.
UVa-Wise will be back in action in another elimination game at 3:30 p.m., please check www.uvawisecavs.com for up-to-date information on who the opponent will be.
