Baseball: Hoos complete sweep of Georgia Tech; win ACC Coastal Division title

jerryratcliffe.com

Posted on Saturday, May. 20, 2023, 5:30 pm

Follow Jerry Ratcliffe on Twitter

Advertising inquiries: Connect with us

Email Jerry Ratcliffe: jratcliffe7000@gmail.com

 

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Photo: UVA Athletics

No. 21 Virginia won the ACC Coastal Division Championship outright after the Cavaliers completed the three-game sweep of Georgia Tech with an 8-7 victory on Saturday. The Cavaliers lock up the No. 2 seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament and won nine-consecutive games to close the regular season.

The Cavaliers (44-11, 19-11 ACC) will be pooled with seventh-seeded North Carolina and 11th-seeded Georgia Tech in the upcoming ACC Tournament in Durham, N.C. Game times and dates will be announced by the conference on Sunday.

Jake Gelof continued his assault on the Virginia record books by going 2 for 3 with two home runs and three RBI. His 21st and 22 home runs of the season move him into a tie with Brian Buchanan for the most in single season in program history. He also broke his own single-season RBI record and upped his season total to 84. The multi-home run effort was his second of the season and school-record, seventh of his career.

Jack O’Connor was credited with his sixth win after he retired all seven batters he faced in relief before giving way to Jay Woolfolk in the ninth inning. Woolfolk registered his ninth save and second in as many days.

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • Gelof got the UVA offense started three batters into the game. He launched a two-run homer over the left field wall to give the Cavaliers an early advantage.
  • Colin Tuft plated the third UVA run in the second inning with an RBI ground out the scored Anthony Stephan.
  • The Yellow Jackets (30-25, 12-18) swarmed back by scoring the next five runs between the second and fifth innings. A total of 11 of Georgia Tech’s 17 hits came between the second and fifth innings. Only three of the 17 on the day went for extra bases.
  • The Cavaliers erased Georgia Tech’s 5-3 lead with a three-run rally in the sixth inning. Tuft delivered the go-ahead single in the frame, scoring both Henry Godbout and Casey Saucke.
  • The one-run advantage did not hold as Tech’s Kristian Campbell came around to score on a sac fly by Stephen Reid in the bottom half of the sixth. The Cavaliers escaped further damage with no outs and the bases loaded thanks to reliever Bradley Hodges who fanned two batters and induced an inning ending groundout.
  • The momentum of Hodges’ effort carried over into the seventh as Gelof left the yard for the second time to break a 6-6 stalemate.
  • The Cavaliers scored what proved to the winning run in the eighth inning when Griff O’Ferrall worked a 3-2 count before depositing a single to left that allowed Godbout to score the eighth run of the day.
  • Georgia Tech scored run on three hits in the ninth and had the winning run on second base but Woolfolk struck out the final two batters to complete the save.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

  • Virginia’s 44 regular season wins are the second-most in UVA history. The program record of 45, has been achieved four times (2006, 2010, 2011, & 2013).
  • UVA’s 19 ACC wins are the most since 2016.
  • The Cavaliers win their first Coastal Division Championship since 2011. The Cavaliers have either been first or second in the Coastal Division 10 of the last 14 years.
  • Virginia is 5-2 in one-run games this year. Saturday was UVA’s first one-run affair since April 23 at Notre Dame.
  • This weekend marked the fourth ACC series sweep of the season for the Cavaliers.

UP NEXT

Virginia will be the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament in Durham, N.C. The Cavaliers will be in Pool B with North Carolina and Georgia Tech. Times and dates for pool play is scheduled to be announced on Saturday.

2023 ACC BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SEEDS
Durham Bulls Athletic Park; Durham, N.C.
POOL A – No. 1 Wake Forest, No. 8 Notre Dame, No. 12 Pitt
POOL B – No. 2 Virginia, No. 7 North Carolina, No. 11 Georgia Tech
POOL C – No. 3 Clemson, No. 6 Boston College, No. 10 Virginia Tech
POOL D – No. 4 Miami, No. 5 Duke, No. 9 NC State