ACC Baseball Championship: Virginia Rallies Past Florida State, 6-3 to Claim 2009 ACC Baseball Championship
Dan Grovatt named Tournament MVP in leading the Cavs to their third ACC baseball crown.



May 24, 2009

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    • DURHAM, N.C. (the ACC.com) - Virginia's John Hicks singled through the left side of the Florida State infield, driving home the two go-ahead runs in the ninth inning Sunday as the sixth-seeded Cavaliers edged the Seminoles 6-3 for the 2009 ACC Baseball Championship.

    FSU and Virginia entered the final innings tied, 3-3. The Seminoles (42-16) loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the eighth, but Virginia reliever Tyler Wilson (W, 8-3) struck out pinch hitter Tommy Oravetz and induced first baseman Jack Posey to fly to right, escaping the jam.

    In the top of the ninth, Virginia also managed to load the bases with one out on FSU reliever Sean Gilmartin (L, 11-3), thanks to a single by designated hitter Phil Gosselin, an error by FSU second baseman Jason Stridham and a walk.

    Unlike Wilson, Gilmartin was unable to get out of danger. Hicks delivered his crucial hit, putting the Cavs in the lead. Virginia added an insurance run when Dan Grovatt scored on a passed ball.

    Cavalier reliever Kevin Arico sewed up the victory by striking out the side in the bottom of the ninth inning.

    Florida State grabbed an early lead on a two-run first inning home run by Stridham, his 11th of the season. Stridham also drove in a run with a single in the third.

    The Cavaliers tied the game with a single run in the second, which was scored on Steven Proscia's RBI double, and two runs in the fourth -- catcher Franco Valdes drove in a run with a single, then later scored himself, thanks to a wild pitch, a fielder's choice and a passed ball.

    The Seminole battery struggled throwing five wild pitches and allowing two passed balls.

    Virginia's 2009 title was a carbon copy of its last ACC championship. In that event, the Cavs also beat FSU in the title game at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

    It was the third ACC baseball title for Virginia (43-12-1), which last won the ACC Tournament in 1996. It was the sixth conference championship for the Cavalier athletic program this scholastic year -- one more than FSU and Maryland, which claimed five titles each.

    This year's tournament 39,639 fans for 13 games -- the ninth best total in ACC history.

    2009 ACC Baseball All-Tournament Team
    C-Franco Valdes, Virginia
    1B-Dustin Ackley, North Carolina
    2B-Jason Stidham, Florida State
    3B-Mickey Wiswall, Boston College
    SS-Jake Lemmerman, Duke
    OF-Dan Grovatt, Virginia
    OF-Wilson Boyd, Clemson
    OF-Mike McGee, Florida State
    UT/DH-Danny Hultzen, Virginia
    P-Pat Dean, Boston College
    P-Casey Harman, Clemson

    All-Tournament Most Valuable Player
    Dan Grovatt, Virginia

    Notes

  • Virginia wins its third ACC Baseball Championship and second in the tournament era (since 1973).
  • Sixth seeded Virginia is the lowest seed to win the ACC Baseball Championship.
  • The league title is the sixth for Virginia this season in all sports which ties a school record for ACC titles in a season and earns UVA the most crowns in the ACC this academic year. The Cavaliers also accomplished the feat in the 2003-04 and 2007-08 academic years.
  • The ACC leads all conferences with fourth hosts selected this afternoon for the upcoming NCAA Baseball Tournament. Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech and North Carolina were given a home regional for the 64-team tournament which begins next weekend.
  • The total attendance for the Championship is 39,639. The tally ranks as the 9th largest in ACC Baseball Championship history.
  • There have been 20 home runs hit in the ten games of the ACC Baseball Championship. None have hit the famous "Durham Bull." However, Virginia's John Hicks hit a home run off the clouds on the lower left portion of the sign on Thursday night but did not hit the bull proper.
  • The Championship Game's duration of 3:14 raised the final average for the Championship to 3:02. There was 39 hours and 30 minutes of total action in this year's Championship.

    • For more information, please go to www.theACC.com/Durham09 or follow @theACC on Twitter.

    --theACC.com--