DURHAM, N.C. – It could have been worse. But not much.
Miami’s Thomas Woodrey was dealing early in his team’s eventual 9-5 win Wednesday. UVa’s offense was stagnant. The Hoos had stranded three runners and had just one hit in 15 at-bats. They were 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position and 3 for 6 in advancement opportunities.
Down 1-0 against a Miami team riding a 12-game win streak and scoring 13 runs per game, starter Connor Jones delivered the dreaded lead-off walk to Miami’s Willie Abreu to open the bottom half of the fifth inning. But the trouble was just starting. On a 1-1 count Hurricanes coach Jim Morris called for the hit and run with Brandon Lopez. Lopez hit a sharp chopper up the middle causing both middle infielders to converge on second base. The ball scooted through Daniel Pinero’s glove and Abreu advanced to third.
The way Woodrey was pitching and the way the Hurricane bullpen had been shutting down all comers, it was easy to sense that two runs might be a major hill to climb for the Hoos and three might be insurmountable. One thing was clear with runners at the corners, Jones had to minimize the damage.
The sophomore hurler responded.
Jones fanned Jacob Heyward for the first out of the frame. He got Hurricane leadoff hitter Ricky Eusebio to fly out but the ball was deep enough in right center to score Abreu to give the Canes a 2-0 lead. Morris got aggressive again by sending Lopez on the first pitch of the next at-bat but the steal attempt was gunned down easily at second by Virginia catcher Robbie Coman.
Jones’ effort kept the Hoos in a position to win. In the top of the sixth inning, Kenny Towns delivered his three-run bomb to stake UVa to 3-2 edge.
Jones was really good in the fifth and pretty good all evening. He allowed two earned runs in 7.1 innings, fanned seven, and walked two.
Miami catcher Garrett Kennedy said Jones was “keeping us off balance, throwing his slider, throwing his fastball, he was mixing a few curve balls in and out, up and down. He was just pitching well. Like when you have a good guy like that they’re going to be able to stay around the zone all game.”
“I thought Connor Jones did just a terrific job,” Virginia coach Brian O’Connor said. “Again, he continues to pitch very, very well for us.”
When the season started both O’Connor and pitching coach Karl Kuhn expected big things from Jones and the righty has not let them down. Jones has improved throughout the season and in his last five starts he has pitched into the seventh inning while going 1-0 with a 1.95 ERA. He’s also tallied 46 strikeouts in 37 innings and taken on a ton of the load since All-American Nathan Kirby went down.
“I certainly I felt like I was getting better every start despite what the box score said, but I knew I had to step up,” Jones said. “You never want Nathan to be injured, but that was kind of a smack in the face, you know, it’s really time to take it to the next level. I think the team’s been playing well behind us and we’ve built a lot of momentum together.”
