In the first 16 starts of his collegiate career, most of which came last season, Matt Packer had never managed to retire a batter in the seventh inning. That changed Thursday night at Davenport Field in what could easily have been Virginia’s most important contest to date.

Kevin McMullan wanted to force the action. Virginia’s third base coach signaled for catcher Franco Valdes to take a pitch after he raced out to a 3-1 lead in the count as the bottom half of the 11th inning started.

Franco Valdes was taken back by the encouraging words. Mired in a miserable slump at the plate and a relative unknown at the time, Virginia’s catcher heard encouragement from a smattering of fans fighting early-season chills in March at Davenport Stadium.

Franco Valdes and Jarrett Parker also chipped in, helping gift wrap the game with late-inning heroics that lifted Virginia to a 3-2 victory over Wake Forest in 11 innings at Davenport Field.