Five Cavaliers named Scholar All-Americans by NWCA
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
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Five members of the Virginia wrestling team have been named Scholar All-America selections by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.
Michael Battista, Brian Courtney, Patrick McCormick, Justin McCoy and Jarod Verkleeren all received the honor by virtue of their academic performance and achievements on the mat. McCoy earned the distinction for the third straight season, while Battista and McCormick earned the honor for a second straight year.
“On behalf of the NWCA Board of Directors, It is my honor to recognize these exceptional athletes and teams,” NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer said. “Wrestling takes much focus and sacrifice and we are proud to honor these wrestlers for their obvious commitment to their academic pursuits!”
In all, 289 individuals earned the honor from 74 different institutions. The Scholar All-America list includes 188 National Qualifiers, 56 All-Americans, 13 National Finalists, and six National Champions.
State O-Lineman Surber picks UVA over Tennessee, WVU, Pitt and S. Carolina
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Cole Surber (Photo: twitter.com/ColeSurber77)
Virginia gained its first football commitment for the Class of 2023 on Friday when Cole Surber, an offensive lineman from Nokesville, announced he would play for the Cavaliers.
Surber is a 6-foot-6, 280-pound offensive lineman from Patriot High, a 3-star who is ranked No. 22 and 23 in the state by 247Sports and Rivals.com, respectively. He was recruited by UVA offensive line coach Garett Tujague.
Surber had a total of 18 offers, several from Power 5 schools. He chose Virginia over Tennessee, West Virginia, South Carolina, Kentucky, Pitt, Maryland and Duke.
He was also offered by Liberty, ODU, Kent State, Richmond, Princeton, UConn and others.
I am humbled and blessed to announce that I am 110% committed to playing at the University of Virginia 🔷⚔️🔶
@Coach2J @Coach_TElliott @UVAFootball #BigMenLead #GoHoos @O51truck @FinnertySean @c4_training @PatriotPioneers @PatriotHS_FB @RivalsFriedman @BrianDohn247 pic.twitter.com/g8p10lTtcx— Cole Surber (@ColeSurber77) April 30, 2022
Virginia upsets 3-seed Syracuse to advance to ACC Semifinals
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
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The 6-seed Virginia women’s lacrosse team (9-8) advanced to the ACC Semifinals with a 18-14 win over 3-seed Syracuse (13-5) on Friday night at Arlotta Stadium.
The Cavaliers used a balanced attack and a 5-0 run in the third quarter to knock off the Orange in the quarterfinals. Freshman Rachel Clark led UVA with six goals, redshirt senior Ashlyn McGovern added four and sophomore Morgan Schwab dished out four assists with three goals.
Virginia had nine assists on its 18 goals. UVA led in shots (27-26), saves (5-1), ground balls (13-5) and caused turnovers (6-5).
HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Cavaliers took an early 3-1 lead after going on a 3-0 run in five minutes.
• Syracuse came back to tie it up 4-4 before taking a 6-5 lead at the end of the first quarter.
• UVA regained the lead with a 3-0 run to start the second quarter. McGovern, Clark and junior Kiki Shaw combined for the run.
• Clark scored again to put UVA up 9-7. Syracuse scored just before the half as Virginia took a 9-8 lead into the break.
• The Orange scored first out the half to tie it 9-9. Sophomore Mackenzie Hoeg scored to put UVA back up before Syracuse scored back-to-back goals to lead 11-10 with 7:23 to go in the third quarter.
• Virginia went on a 5-0 run over the next eight minutes to take a 15-11 lead with 13:27 remaining in the game.
• The teams traded goals for the remainder of the game as UVA took the win.
NOTES
• Clark matched her career-high with six goals. It was her 13th hat trick of the season.
• McGovern recorded her 12th hat trick of the season.
• Schwab finished with a career-high seven points with three goals and four assists.
• Sophomore Aubrey Williams led the Cavaliers with eight draw controls.
• Senior Myla Grace Barnett had a career-best three caused turnovers.
UP NEXT
Virginia will play 2-seed Boston College at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 1 in Notre Dame, Ind.
Virginia falls 5-4 in series opener at Louisville
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
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The Virginia softball team (26-22, 12-10 ACC) fell in the series opener at Louisville (25-20, 9-10 ACC) on Friday as the Cardinals walked things off with a 5-4 victory at Ulmer Stadium.
Virginia struck first, scoring in the second inning on a single to left from Bailey Winscott combined with a fielding error that brought home Abby Weaver. It continued with a second run on an RBI single up the middle from Leah Boggs that scored Winscott and gave Virginia the 2-0 lead.
Louisville answered in the third, starting a rally with a triple off the wall in center field before a single pushed the first run home. With two outs, the Cardinals pushed in front with back-to-back doubles to take the 3-2 lead.
The Cavaliers regained the lead in the fifth with a two-RBI triple to right from Katie Goldberg. Winscott and Gabby Baylog scored on the Goldberg hit after both reached on walks.
Louisville then walked it off in the seventh with a two-RBI single through the left side from Kendall Smith. Back-to-back walks to open the seventh sparked the rally for the Cardinals.
Mikayla Houge (9-5) took the loss in relief, allowing the two runs on one hit with a pair of walks and two strikeouts. She worked 3.0 innings in relief after entering the game to start the fourth inning.
NOTES ON THE GAME
• Virginia dropped a game for the first time this season when leading after five innings.
• UVA is now 19-1 when leading after five innings this season.
• Aly Rayle faced two batters in the seventh inning after entering with two on in relief of Houge.
• It is the second time in the last three meetings that Louisville has won 5-4 going back to last season.
FROM HEAD COACH JOANNA HARDIN
“I thought we came out and executed really well at the plate against Taylor Roby and got some good swings off early, had some quality at bats and hit a lot of balls hard. We put up the four runs and we feel good about our chances any time we put up four runs against any opponent. Louisville had some timely hits and at the end we didn’t slam the door. The walk in the seventh inning came hurt and came back to bite us; good teams will find a way to score in those situations. We have to clean things up on defense, but there were some positive things to take away and we’re excited to get after it again tomorrow against a really good opponent.”
UP NEXT FOR THE HOOS
Virginia and Louisville will return to action on Saturday (April 30) in a 4 p.m. contest on ACC Network.
Colts loved UVA TE Jelani Woods at first sight, draft him in 3rd round
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Virginia tight end Jelani Woods celebrates his first touchdown as a Cavalier in Saturday’s win over Illinois. (Photo: UVA Athletics)
Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Marcus Brady got a good look at massive Virginia tight end Jelani Woods in the Shrine Bowl back in January and knew he wanted the former Cavalier on his roster.
The Colts declined to go after any free-agent tight ends with the intent of adding Woods come draft time, and that’s exactly what Indy did on Friday night, selecting the former Wahoo as the No. 73 overall pick in the third round.
Woods scored a 10 RAS out of a possible 10, ranking him No. 1 out of 1,014 tight ends from 1987 to 2022 and making him one of the most athletic tight ends to ever enter the draft. At 6-foot-7, 259 pounds with a 4.61-second mark in the 40-yard dash, Woods proved irresistible to the Colts’ coaching staff.
Former UVA coach Bronco Mendenhall could have, and probably did tell the Colts about the possibilities of Woods, whom Mendenhall described as “uncoverable.”
“At 6-7, the defensive backs aren’t big enough to cover him and the linebackers aren’t fast enough to cover him,” Mendenhall chuckled. “At 6-7, he’s always open.”
Woods wouldn’t disagree.
“I’m more of a physical guy,” Woods told the Indianapolis Star. “I’m a guy who attacks everything he does. In run blocking, I’m very aggressive. In pass protection, I’m the same thing.”
Last season with Virginia, Woods hauled in 44 catches for 598 yards and eight touchdowns after transferring from Oklahoma State where he was mostly used as a blocker.
No. 11 Virginia drops series opener to No. 7 Virginia Tech
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
Photo courtesy UVA Athletics.
Behind a strong starting pitching performance from Griffin Greene, No. 7 Virginia Tech (29-9, 12-7 ACC) defeated No. 11 Virginia (32-10, 13-9 ACC) 5-2 on Friday at Disharoon Park.
The home loss was just the third this season for the Cavaliers.
Greene improved to 7-1 on the season after logging seven innings of one-run baseball. He recorded only two strikeouts but pitched effectively around four walks and seven Cavalier hits. Virginia out-hit Virginia Tech 8-7, the third time this season UVA has lost despite out-hitting its opponent.
Junior Chris Newell went 3-for-3 with a walk and scored both Cavalier runs in the contest. In the top of the ninth, he hit his ninth home run of the season to make it a 5-2 game.
A solo homer off the bat of Carson DeMartini in the third inning got Virginia Tech on the board. The long ball was his 11th of the year. The Hokies leading hitter, Jack Hurley, followed up with a two-out RBI single later in the frame to make it 2-0.
Virginia cut the lead in half in fourth inning on an RBI single through the left side by Casey Saucke. Virginia Tech spoiled a potential big inning with the help of double play on a lineout by Max Cotier.
The Hokies plated two more, two-out runs in the sixth with back-to-back doubles Connor Hartigan and Lucas Donlon.
Leadoff man Nick Biddison capped the Virginia Tech scoring with a leadoff homer in the top of the ninth.
Virginia starting pitcher Nate Savino pitched into the sixth inning and left the game with a runner on second who eventually came around to score. He pitched 5.2 innings, allowed three runs and struck out seven batters. Five of his seven strikeouts came in the first three innings.
Postgame: Virginia coach Brian O’Connor
“Certainly, a good college baseball game with a great environment. The story for me was the starting pitcher (Griffin) Green. He did a tremendous job he really battled, he buckled down and made some really big pitches with runners in scoring position. We had numerous opportunities that we didn’t capitalize on and to beat a great team like Virginia Tech, you have to make sure that you’re opportunistic and we didn’t do that. I thought (Nate) Savino, gave us a chance to win but their guy out outdueled him and did a terrific job. We’re looking forward to another opportunity tomorrow.”
UP NEXT: The series resumes on Saturday with the middle game of a three Prior to Saturday’s middle game, the Virginia baseball program will retire No. 11 in honor of Ryan Zimmerman in a pregame ceremony. Gates will open at 2:30 with ceremonies scheduled to begin at 3:30 and first pitch of the contest slated for 4 p.m.
UVA Basketball offers pair of 4-star prospects from Midwest
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Taison Chatman (Photo: prephoops.com)
Tony Bennett has returned to the site of Virginia’s national championship and to his own home state to extend offers to the Cavaliers’ newest prospects.
UVA has offered 6-foot-4, 4-star shooting guard Taison Chatman of Minneapolis, Minn., where the Cavaliers captured the program’s first national championship in 2019. Bennett also reached out with an offer to 6-8 power forward Milan Momcilovic from the coach’s home state. Momcilovic is from Pewaukee, Wisc.
Chatman, who is the state of Minnesota’s No. 1-ranked prospect, is also the Minnesota Golden Gophers’ top priority recruit. He has a multitude of offers from: UVA, Oregon, UConn, Kansas, Louisville, Iowa State, Iowa, Texas Tech, Nebraska, Marquette, Northwestern, Texas, Xavier, TCU and Washington State.
A member of the recruiting Class of 2023, Chatman is ranked the nation’s No. 44 overall recruit according to 247Sports composite ratings and the No. 9 shooting guard in the country.
Truly blessed to receive an offer from Coach Bennett and the coaching staff at the University Of Virginia 🙏🏽‼️ pic.twitter.com/EWXR7HGznV
— Taison Chatman (@tchat04) April 29, 2022
Milan Momcilovic (Photo: twitter.com/IsaacDennis_2)
Momcilovic also has lots of offers, including the two latest from UVA and UCLA. He also holds offers from Marquette, Miami, Minnesota, Iowa State, Virginia Tech, Xavier, Northwestern and Creighton.
The 4-star is ranked the No. 41 overall prospect nationally for the Class of 2023 in 247Sports composite ratings and the No. 6 power forward in the country. He is also the top-rated player in the state of Wisconsin, where Bennett has had recruiting success.
Both players said their main priority in finding a college home is their relationship with the coaching staff.
Earlier in the week, Bennett extended an offer to 6-10 power forward Blake Buchanan, a stretch four who can also score and defend in the paint. He holds offers from Gonzaga, Penn State, Oregon State, Washington State and Iowa.
Buchanan is planning on visiting Virginia this weekend.
UVA has also offered 6-6 shooting guard Cam Christie from Rolling Meadows, Ill.
I am very honored and grateful to have received an offer from Coach Bennett and @UVAMensHoops. Appreciate Coach Bennett and @KyleGetter coming to visit me. pic.twitter.com/12ZNIaQAqO
— Milan Momcilovic (@MilanMomcilovi5) April 28, 2022
Check out Chatman’s and Momcilovic’s highlights below:
‘Jerry Ratcliffe Show’: Kihei Clark discusses return, goals for 2022-2023
Virginia point guard Kihei Clark joins the “Jerry Ratcliffe Show” to discuss his decision to return for a COVID redshirt year, and his goals for the 2022-2023 season.
‘Jerry Ratcliffe Show’: Shoulder injuries in sports
Dr. Stephen Brockmeier from UVA Orthopedics joins the “Jerry Ratcliffe Show” to discuss shoulder injuries in student-athletes.
Cleary, Sambach earn All-ACC honors
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
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Virginia sophomore Jennifer Cleary (Wilmington, Del.) and freshman Amanda Sambach (Pinehurst, N.C.) have been named to the 15-member 2022 All-ACC team. It is the first time both players have received the honor. Sambach is the first Cavalier freshman to be named All-ACC since Beth Lillie in 2018.
Cleary currently leads UVA with a 72.75 stroke average and has posted four top-10 finishes this season. A total of 12 of her 24 rounds this season have been par-or-better and she leads the Cavaliers with five rounds in the 60s. She placed fourth at the Wolverine Invitational to open the season and later produced a fourth-place finish at The Landfall Tradition in her top tournament outings this year. She posted both her best single-round (-4, 68) and tournament score (-8, 208) at the UCF Challenge. Cleary is ranked No. 53 nationally in the latest Golfstat standings.
Sambach came to UVA with outstanding junior golf credentials and has been a consistent contributor on the collegiate circuit. She posted eight top-25 performances in nine total tournament showings this season. She was second on the UVA team with a 72.82 stroke average and had three top-10 finishes topped by her third-place showing at the ACC Championships. She was the highest finishing freshman in the field. Sambach is currently ranked the No. 45 player in the Golfstat individual rankings, which is the second-highest among all ACC freshmen.
Cleary and Sambach will compete with the Cavaliers at the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional set for May 9-11 at the University of Michigan Golf Course.
Moore sets Virginia’s career points record at Senior Night
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
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With two goals and six assists, Virginia attackman Matt More passed Steele Stanwick on Virginia’s all-time career points list in the Cavaliers’ 20-10 win over Lafayette (4-11) at Klöckner Stadium on Thursday night. At Virginia’s Senior Night, fifth-year Moore finished Thursday’s contest with 271 career points, including 140 goals and 131 assists.
In the cage, Miles Thompson (1-0) earned his first career win after posting a career-best 13 saves in 52:48 of action. Lafayette’s Gabe Cummins (3-6) suffered the loss.
In addition to Moore, Payton Cormier (5 goals, 8 shots) and Regan Quinn (4 goals, 5 shots) led the Cavaliers offensively. Quinn’s four goals are a career best. Virginia dominated the faceoff-X after Petey LaSalla (17-22), Gable Braun (7-10) and Mitchell Whalen (1-2) combined to win 25 of the game’s 34 total faceoffs.
Virginia (11-3) recognized all 14 of its fourth and fifth-year student-athletes prior to the start of Thursday’s contest.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Quinn opened the scoring for Virginia as the Cavaliers leaped out to 7-1 lead in the middle of the second. UVA saw goals from seven different players in its first seven strikes of the game. Back-to-back goals by Lafayette broke up Virginia’s run, but the Cavaliers tacked on two more goals before halftime at which point UVA led, 9-3. Moore posted four of his eight points in the first 30 minutes of play with one goal and three assists.
The Cavaliers scored the first three goals to open the second half, which encompassed a goal and an assist from Moore. With 6:00 remaining in the third, Moore found Cormier, who fired at the cage to tally his fifth and final goal, which gave Moore his seventh point of the evening to shatter Stanwick’s record. Twenty-four seconds later, Moore assisted once again – this time to Peter Garno to register his sixth assist of the game. Virginia led 14-6 at the end of the third. The Cavaliers out-scored Lafayette 6-4 in the fourth quarter to remain a perfect 8-0 at Klöckner Stadium this season.
FROM THE LOCKER ROOM
Lars Tiffany on Matt Moore’s record-breaking performance …
“Certainly, an exciting night to have Matt Moore distributing the ball and sharing it. That’s a sign of not only how good a player he is, but his leadership. He’s giving to others – emotionally and certainly on the field. We get to see the fun stuff. He’s giving the ball to others and letting them finish the goal. So, it’s a really exciting team win and great to be moving into the month of May on a really high note.”
Series Notes: #11 Virginia, #7 Virginia Tech set to battle at The Dish
No. 11 Virginia (32-10, 13-8 ACC) will host No. 7 Virginia Tech (29-9, 12-7 ACC) in the Smithfield Commonwealth Clash at Disharoon Park beginning Friday at 6 p.m. The three-game series continues Saturday with a 4 p.m. first pitch and concludes on Sunday at 1 p.m. All three games will air on ACCNX and WINA (98.9 FM/1070 AM).
Weekend Promotions
Friday: UVA students will be allowed to enter the stadium at 4:30 p.m. for a tailgate that features free BBQ sandwiches, chips and Pepsi products on the right field porch. It will be a Sabre Rewards event and the first 200 students in attendance will receive a free koozie.
Saturday: The Virginia baseball program will retire the No. 11 in a special pregame ceremony at approximately 3:30 p.m. Every fan in attendance will receive a free Ryan Zimmerman Shirsey and the first 500 fans can pick up a voucher at either the RF plaza entrance or the Klöckner Ticket Office gate to get an exclusive Ryan Zimmerman Bobblehead. Gates will be open to the public at 2:30 p.m. Fans can also enjoy an $8 combo deal offer that includes a hot dog, chips and 20 oz soda throughout the game on Saturday. The food trucks Sombrero’s and Got Dumplings will also be stationed near the left field entrance.
Sunday: Youth Day at the Dish will feature an inflatable obstacle course/slide in left field, a balloon artist, poster giveaway, and kids can run the bases as well as collect autographs from the Cavaliers after the game.
Game Coverage
ACCNX is available to authenticated subscribers of ACC Network via ESPN.com and the ESPN app. Additionally the contest can be heard locally in Charlottesville on WINA (98.9 FM/1070 AM) or anywhere on WINA.com. Links to live stats can be found on VirginiaSports.com. Fans can get in-game updates on the team’s official twitter page (@UVABaseball).
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday – 6 p.m.
- Virginia Tech: RHP Griffin Green (6-1, 3.44 ERA, 52.1 IP, 15 BB, 43 SO)
- Virginia: LHP Nate Savino (4-3, 3.76 ERA, 55.0 IP, 19 BB, 59 SO)
Saturday – 4 p.m. (Gates open at 2:30 p.m.)
- Virginia Tech: RHP Drue Hackenberg (8-0, 2.10 ERA, 60.0 IP, 10 BB, 55 SO)
- Virginia: LHP Brian Gursky (6-0, 2.47 ERA, 47.1 IP, 23 BB, 57 SO)
Sunday – 1 p.m.
- Virginia Tech: TBA
- Virginia: LHP Jake Berry (5-2, 3.95 ERA, 41.0 IP, 15 BB, 55 SO)
Series Notes
- Virginia and Virginia Tech are both ranked for the in their annual regular season meeting for the first time since 2010. The Cavaliers were the No. 1 team in the country at the time taking on a then 20th ranked Hokie club.
- The weekend series will feature two of the top hitting teams in the country. UVA is currently hitting .323 as team, the third-best batting average in the country. Virginia Tech ranks fourth nationally with a .320 average.
- UVA is 24-2 at home this season and has won 77 percent of its games at Disharoon Park since the facility opened in 2002.
- Virginia remained at No. 11 in this week’s D1Baseball.com top-25. The Cavaliers are ranked has high as No. 5 (Baseball America) and as low as No. 16 (Collegiate Baseball Newspaper) among the major polls.
UVA Notes
- Virginia is the No. 2 scoring offense in the country, averaging 9.7 runs per game. The Cavaliers have totaled 409 runs in 42 games, second only to UNLV’s 421.
- The Cavaliers have scored 10 or more runs in a game 21 times this season, including 19 of the 26 games at Disharoon Park in 2022.
- Virginia has scored five or more runs in a single inning 23 times this season. The seven runs in the 10th against UNC last Saturday marked the ninth time UVA has scored seven or more in a single frame.
Virginia Tech Notes
- Spotlight Sluggers: Two of the nation’s top sluggers will collide at Davenport Field this weekend when Virginia Tech’s Jack Hurleycrosses bats with Virginia’s Jake Gelof. While Hurley leads the ACC with the country’s fourth best batting average (.430), Gelof ranks sixth nationally in slugging percentage (.822) – three positions ahead of his Blacksburg counterpart. With a pair of two-baggers hit during Wednesday’s 11-8 victory against James Madison, Hurley became the first Tech player since 2017 to eclipse 20 doubles (Tom Stoffel), putting him in a tie for second nationally this season behind UNLV’s Joey Walls (22). Where Hurley has edged Gelof in doubles, Gelof has outperformed him in home runs, rounding the bases 16 times to Hurley’s 11 trips. Behind Hurley and Gelof are two equally dominant lineups in the Hokies and the Cavaliers. Virginia Tech’s .320 team batting average ranks as the fourth highest in the country – one position behind third-ranked Virginia (.323).
- All We Do Is Win: Virginia Tech is chasing its first 30-win season since 2013 when the Hokies posted a 40-22 record on their way to hosting the NCAA Blacksburg Regional. Tech’s 29 victories this season are the most the program has achieved under fifth-year head coach John Szefc, who has eclipsed 30 wins on 10 occasions. Since March 19, the Hokies have won 19 of their last 22 games, including a 12-3 mark against the ACC and a 7-3 record against opponents ranked in D1Baseball’s top 25. During the stretch, weekend starters Griffin Green and Drue Hackenberg have combined to lead Tech to a 10-0 record during their appearances. Heading into the Virginia series, Hackenberg is one of six NCAA Division I pitchers with a record of 8-0 or better and has thrown the most innings (60) among freshmen with eight or more winning decisions this season.
‘Jerry Ratcliffe Show’: 50 years of baseball with Virginia alum Mike Cubbage
Virginia Baseball alum Mike Cubbage spent a half-century in baseball, all told. Cubbage, on the eve of his induction in the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, joins the “Jerry Ratcliffe Show” to talk about his life in the national pasttime.
Virginia women’s basketball lands former 5-star PG transfer from Minnesota
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton continued to rebuild Virginia women’s basketball this week as she added former 5-star point guard Alexia Smith to the Cavaliers’ roster.
Smith, who just finished up her sophomore season at Minnesota, comes to UVA out of the transfer portal. The 5-foot-8 guard was rated a 5-star prospect by ESPN in its Class of 2020.
Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Smith appeared in 33 games and started one for the Golden Gophers in 2021-22. As a freshman in 2020-21, she started 12 of 19 games.
Last season, she provided spark off the Minnesota bench, averaged 3.4 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game, while scoring in double figures three times, including a career-high 14 points against USTA with five field goals. She also scored her Big Ten career high against Michigan.
As a senior at Columbus Africenteric Early College, Smith was ranked the 46th player overall in the recruiting class nationally and the 15th-ranked guard in the country. She led her school to two state titles and a spot in the state semifinals her senior season before the tournament was halted by Covid-19.
No. 11 Virginia pulls away in late innings to earn fifth straight win
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
Photo courtesy UVA Athletics.
No. 11 Virginia (32-10) scored 10 runs over its last five turns at the plate in a 17-7 win over George Mason (14-25) on Wednesday at Disharoon Park. The Cavaliers have won the first five games of their 14-game homestand.
Sophomore Jake Gelof hit his 16th home run of the season, a solo shot with two outs in fourth inning to give UVA an 8-6 advantage. The home run tied Jarrett Parker (2009) and Joe Koshansky (2004) For the third most in a single season in UVA history. Gelof was a triple short of his second cycle of the season and went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBI on the day.
Virginia’s seven, eight and nine hitters – Ethan Anderson, Casey Saucke and Max Cotier each had four RBI in the contest.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• George Mason took the lead twice in the contest, 1-0 after the top of the first and 6-3 after the top of the third. UVA responded by tying the game in the first and took the lead for good with a three-run rally in the third inning.
• Gelof knotted the game in the bottom of the first with a single into center field that allowed Griff O’Ferrall to score.
• George Mason scored five runs in its half of the third inning, the fifth time a Virginia opponent has scored five or more runs against UVA. UVA had been 0-4 when an opponent posted a five-spot until tonight.
• The Cavaliers went ahead 7-6 on a two-RBI single from Cotier in the third and didn’t trail from that point forward.
• The Cavaliers blew the game open in the bottom of the sixth with a five-run rally. After the first five batters reached and Anderson drew a bases loaded walk to drive in the second run of the inning, Saucke drove in a pair on a single through the left side.
• Righthander Alex Greene earned his first career win after taking over in the third and pitching the next 2.1 innings. He allowed only an unearned run to score in his seventh appearance of the season.
FROM HEAD COACH BRIAN O’CONNOR
“I told our team I was really proud. They (George Mason) took the lead in the third inning and we bounced back with a really good patient, opportunistic offensive approach in the bottom of the third and fourth innings. Certainly, a great offensive night by a number of guys, Ethan Anderson was really locked in, Max Cotier in back-to-back games I thought he had a great approach and a lot of guys did. We came into the game knowing that we were going to chop the game up from a pitching staff standpoint wanting to get a lot of guys work out there, which they did. And most all of them did a nice job and we’ll be ready to go for the weekend.”
UP NEXT: The Cavaliers will resume Atlantic Coast Conference play this weekend with a three-game series against No. 7 Virginia Tech. The series opener is scheduled for Friday (April 29) at 6 p.m. Prior to Saturday’s middle game, the Virginia baseball program will retire No. 11 in honor of Ryan Zimmerman in a pregame ceremony. Gates will open at 2:30 with ceremonies scheduled to begin at 3:30 and first pitch of the contest slated for 4 p.m. The series concludes on Sunday at 1 p.m.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
• Alex Tappen played in his 202nd career game, tying Jared King for the 10th most in UVA history. He has reached base in a team-best 12-straight games.
• The meeting was the first between Virginia and George Mason since 2010. The Cavaliers have won six-straight games against the Patriots, all coming in the Brian O’Connor era (2004-present).
• Anderson went 4-for-4 with four runs scored and four RBI on the night, all season-highs.
• Saucke’s was 3-for-4 at the plate and his four RBI were the most since driving in three against Cornell on Feb. 25.
UVA makes cut for pair of 4-star defensive linemen, plus a Florida tight end
By Jerry Ratcliffe
A pair of 4-star defensive linemen have kept Virginia on their final lists of programs, while the son of a former Cavalier star dropped by Charlottesville last Saturday to check things out.
Joel Starlings, a 4-star from Richmond’s Benedictine Prep, told On3.com that he has narrowed his list from 11 to five schools: Virginia, Oklahoma, North Carolina, South Carolina and West Virginia. Starlings, aka “Grim Reaper,” is a 6-foot-5, 310-pound standout, ranked as the nation’s No. 32 defensive lineman and the No. 4 prospect in the state of Virginia for the Class of 2023 by On3.
He cut the following schools off his final list: Virginia Tech, Florida State, Georgia, Penn State, Texas A&M and Wisconsin. Starlings, who was committed to Michigan until Wolverines defensive line coach Shaun Nua left for Southern Cal after last season, has scheduled visits to UNC (May 20-22) and West Virginia (June 3-5).
TOP5️⃣… CHOSƎN☝🏽…
(who will it be?) pic.twitter.com/cNyddDSqA6
— GЯIM ЯΣΛPΣЯ (@JoelStarlings) April 27, 2022
Meanwhile, James Heard, a 4-star pass rusher from Philadelphia’s St. Joseph’s School, has cut his list of schools to four: Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia.
Heard, also a member of the Class of ‘23, has visited Tennessee and has a visit scheduled for West Virginia (June 3-5). He plans to visit both UVA and Kentucky in May.
Heard told Rivals’ Adam Friedman that he likes what new Virginia defensive ends coach Chris Slade told him about how Tony Elliott plans to build the program. Slade, a key figure in his recruitment, was a premiere pass rusher at Virginia and in the NFL. Slade still holds the ACC record for career sacks, a mark that has stood for three decades.
Top 4 for 4⭐️ DE @JamesHeardjr 🔥 pic.twitter.com/hTdwBOAhE1
— BnB Graphics (@bnbgraphics) April 27, 2022
Former UVA star running back Terry Kirby, who played with Slade for the Cavaliers in the late 1980s-early 1990s, was in Charlottesville for the program’s spring game last weekend and brought his son, TeKai, for an unofficial visit.
TeKai Kirby is a 6-4, 220-pound tight end who plays for St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where his father Terry owns a gym. Tekai, a junior, runs a 4.6 in the 40-yard dash and bench presses 300 pounds.
Photo: twitter.com/TeKai_Kirby
Tony Bennett offers 6-10 PF Buchanan; visiting UVA this weekend
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Blake Buchanan. Photo: twitter.com/blake_buchanan4
Tony Bennett’s trip to Kansas City over the weekend is already paying dividends on the college basketball recruiting scene.
Virginia has been scouting Class of 2023 big man Blake Buchanan for more than an year, but Bennett liked what he saw in KC and offered Blake a scholarship. The 6-foot-10 power forward was so excited about the offer that he is planning an official visit to Charlottesville this weekend.
Buchanan, who hails from Lake City, Idaho, was playing for Hooptown Elite in a tournament in Kansas City while Bennett watched.
The big man, a stretch four who can also score inside, also holds offers from Gonzaga, Penn State, Oregon State, Washington State and Iowa.
Virginia Women’s Golf No. 2 seed at Ann Arbor Regional
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
(© Kevin Carden – stock.adobe.com)
The No. 8 Virginia women’s golf team is the No. 2 seed for the NCAA Regional Ann Arbor site that will be held at the University of Michigan Golf Course. The 54-hole regional championship takes place May 9-11.
It marks the 16th time Virginia has received a bid to the NCAA Championships. Virginia will be looking to advance from a regional site to the NCAA Championships for the 12th time in the program’s 19-year history.
Virginia opened its season in September playing at the Michigan Golf Course during the Wolverine Invitational. UVA placed second behind the host Wolverines as sophomore Jennifer Cleary (fourth) and freshman Amanda Sambach (sixth) posted top-10 finishes.
A total of six, 12-team regional sites will determine the teams that advance to the NCAA Championships. The top four teams (24 teams total) and the low two individuals (12 individuals total) not on an advancing team from each regional site qualify for the national championships. The NCAA Championships are set for May 20-25 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
The field at the Ann Arbor Regional site includes (in seed order) 1. San Jose State, 2. Virginia, 3. Michigan, 4. Arkansas, 5. UCF, 6. Virginia Tech, 7. North Carolina, 8. Washington, 9. Ohio State, 10. Pepperdine, 11. Xavier, 12. Oakland.
Other regional sites taking place include the University of New Mexico Championship Course in Albuquerque, N.M, hosted by New Mexico; University of Michigan Golf Course in Ann Arbor, Mich., hosted by Michigan; Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla., hosted by Oklahoma State; Seminole Legacy Golf Club in Tallahassee, Fla., hosted by Florida State; Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, Calif., hosted by Stanford and Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tenn., hosted by Vanderbilt.
Virginia is one of 10 ACC teams to receive an invitation to this year’s national championship. Also qualifying were Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Louisville, Miami, NC State, North Carolina, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.
Game Notes: Virginia hosts George Mason in mid-week action at The Dish
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
Photo courtesy UVA Athletics.
No. 11 Virginia (31-10) will be home on Wednesday to host George Mason (14-24) in a non-conference matchup at Disharoon Park. The contest is slated to air live on ACC Network and scheduled for a 6 p.m. first pitch.
GAME COVERAGE: For information and a list of ACC Network carriers visit: GetACCN.com. Authenticated subscribers of ACC Network can stream the game on ESPN.com and the ESPN app. Additionally the contest can be heard locally in Charlottesville on WINA (98.9 FM/1070 AM) or anywhere on WINA.com. Links to live stats can be found on VirginiaSports.com. Fans can get in-game updates on the team’s official twitter page (@UVABaseball).
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
George Mason: TBA
Virginia: LHP Matthew Buchanan (2-1, 2.21 ERA, 20.1 IP, 5 BB, 29 SO)
LEADING OFF
- The cancelation of Tuesday’s midweek game means the Cavaliers will play 14-straight games at Disharoon Park before closing out the regular season at Louisville (May 19-21).
- Separated by just 100 miles, Virginia and George Mason will meet for the first times since 2010.
- The Cavaliers come into Wednesday with four-straight wins after a weekend sweep of North Carolina, its second ACC sweep of the season.
- UVA is 23-2 at home this season and owns has won 77 percent of its games at Disharoon Park since the facility opened in 2002.
- Despite a 4-1 week, Virginia remained at No. 11 in this week’s D1Baseball.com top-25. The Cavaliers are ranked has high as No. 5 (Baseball America) and as low as No. 16 (Collegiate Baseball Newspaper) among the major polls.
CAVALIER MILESTONES
- Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor moved up to 8thall-time on the ACC’s all-time wins list. He surpassed former North Carolina head coach Mike Roberts on Sunday with his 781stwin.
- Outfielder Alex Tappen, who has started all 41 games this season, reached the 200 games played plateau on Saturday. An appearance on Wednesday would be his 202ndof his career, tying him with Jared King (2009-13) for the 10thmost in school history.
AGAINST GEORGE MASON
- Virginia is 26-12 against the Patriots in an all-time series that dates back to 1978.
- The Cavaliers have won five-straight games against the George Mason, including a 7-2 victory in the 2004 Charlottesville Regional. The Cavalier team featured then-sophomore Ryan Zimmerman who will have his number 11 retired on Saturday at Disharoon Park. Zimmerman went 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored in the contest.
- The last time the two teams met, Virginia was ranked No. 2 in the country and peppered the Patriots with 15 hits in a 10-3 victory on April 1, 2010.’
WALK-OFF
- Devin Ortiz hit a walk-off grand slam in the tenth inning on Saturday to help Virginia clinch its first series victory over North Carolina since 2016. The walk-off home run was his second of his career. He broke a 3-3 tie in the 10thof the 2021 NCAA Columbia Regional Championship game against ODU to send UVA to the Super Regionals.
- The walk-off grand slam was the only one hit by a Cavalier in the last 22 years.
- Since 2000, there have been seven Virginia walk-off homers. Ortiz is the only Cavalier to hit two walk-off home runs in that span.
FIRST YEAR IMPACT
- In the three-game set against North Carolina six true freshman recorded a hit and reliever Jay Woolfolk logged 3.2 scoreless innings over two appearances.
- Shortstop Griff O’Ferrall led the rookies at the plate by batting .357 (5-for-14) with a home run and four runs scored. His solo home run on Friday night in the seventh inning broke a 2-2 tie in an eventual 4-2 victory.
- Outfielder Colin Tuft hit his first home run of the season in Saturday’s contest and was 4-for-8 in two weekend starts.
- Ethan Anderson started all three games at DH and matched a season-high with three hits in the series finale.
- Anthony Stephan came on as a pinch-hitter in the 10thinning on Saturday and led off the seven-run inning with a base hit to left field.
EYE-POPPING OFFENSIVE NUMBERS
- Virginia is the No. 3 scoring offense in the country, averaging 9.6 runs per game. The Cavaliers have totaled 392 runs in 41 games, the fourth most of any team in the country.
- The Cavaliers have scored 10 or more runs in a game 20 times this season, including 18 of the 25 games at Disharoon Park in 2022.
- Virginia has scored five or more runs in a single inning 21 times this season. The seven runs in the 10thon Saturday marked the ninth time UVA has scored seven or more in a single frame.
- UVA ranks in the top-10 nationally in batting average (4th), hits (5th), sacrifice flies (6th) on-base percentage (7th) and walks (7th).
ON THE MOUND
- Freshman Matthew Buchanan is scheduled to make his fourth start of the season. The lefthander has appeared in 11 games, most recently a week ago against Georgetown. Four of his five runs allowed all year long came against the Hoyas.
- As a staff, Virginia sports a 3.38 ERA, the eighth-lowest in the country and the lowest in the ACC. In addition, the Cavalier hurlers are allowing only 7.14 hits per game which are the sixth fewest of any team in the country.
- UVA has struck out 445 batters this season the sixth-most in the country. UVA is averaging 11.0 strikeouts per nine innings are the eighth most in the nation.
- Virginia has seven shutouts this season, one behind national leader Vanderbilt. Virginia is one of five teams in the country with seven or more shutouts (Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Stanford, Central Michigan).
CAVALIER NOTABLES
- Kyle Teel hit .450 (9-for-20) with a double, six runs and five RBI in five games last week. Seven of his nine hits came in the three-game series against UNC.
- Jake Gelof hit his 15thhome run of the season, a solo shot on Saturday against UNC. He tied UVA Baseball Hall of Famer Mark Reynolds’ 2002 single-season mark.
- In Tappen and Gelof, Virginia has two of the best run producers in the country. No other team has two players over the 55-RBI mark. Gelof’s 62 rank are the third most in the country while Tappen’s 55, rank 8th.
Elliott believes WR Wicks has no limit on how good he can be
By Jerry Ratcliffe
Photo: UVA Athletics
When Dontayvion Wicks broke Herman Moore’s 30-year record for most reception yards in a season last year, Virginia fans knew they had something special.
After missing the 2020 season with an injury, ‘21 was his coming-out party, and man, did he deliver. Fifty seven catches for 1,203 yards, nine touchdowns and All-ACC first team as a sophomore.
His 21.1 yards-per-catch average led the conference and was fifth nationally. The Louisiana native has NFL DNA as evidenced by some spectacular catches last season, including an unforgettable snare, flat on his back in the Miami end zone for a TD, a grab that was No. 1 on SportsCenter.
It didn’t take new UVA coach Tony Elliott long to figure out what a prize he had inherited after watching video of Wicks’ season, which earned the receiver Pro Football Network’s honorable mention All-American.
“I told [Wicks] he’s as good as the guys that I’ve been around for the last 11 years from a talent standpoint,” Elliott said after assessing Wicks’ spring.
Elliott, by the way, was once a wide receiver at Clemson, and coached wide receivers while also serving as the Tigers’ offensive coordinator for 11 seasons prior to taking his first head coaching gig at Virginia in December. Oh, and he coached eight Clemson wide receivers that all have current NFL addresses, including Sammy Watkins, DeAndre Hopkins, Tee Higgins, Amari Rodgers and Hunter Renfro.
“Tay (Wicks) has the speed, he’s got the short-area quickness, he’s got the natural hands,” Elliott said. “He’ a tough guy. So he’s got it all. The biggest thing with him is he was a guy that was one foot in the water because he has success and he knows he’s the best [receiver] returning.
“My coaching style is I’m going at the best one and I’m coaching the best one harder than anybody else because in order for us to be the team that we want to be, the best players have got to be the hardest workers. They’ve got to lead every single day.”
Elliott has a philosophy that his players can’t put just one foot in the pool. They must be “all in,” both feet. The coach said that at first he sensed a little bit of resistance from Wicks, but is now proud of the way the junior receiver has responded.
Wicks said after last Saturday’s spring game that there were “adjustments I had to make,” and that Elliott told him “I have great potential, that it’s small details that separate me from everybody else,” and that as good as last season was to “let last year go.”
Elliott has noted the change in the star receiver.
“I’ve seen [improvement] in every area of his life, his commitment and engagement in the classroom,” the coach said. “He’s trying to lead. His body language is a lot better from when we first started, so I’m pleased with his spring, but I think he still has another step that he can take because he has a chance to be as good as anyone I’ve been around from a talent standpoint … but he’s got to make that commitment that he wants to be the best at everything that he does everytime he steps on the field.”
Wicks, who had catches of 30, 35, 49, 22, 39, 27, 77, 36 and 27 yards during the course of the season, tied a UVA record (with Germaine Crowell) for most 100-plus receiving yard games in a season with six. His 77-yard catch-and-run vs. Georgia Tech was the Cavaliers’ longest play of last season.
In that game, he hauled in six catches for 168 yards and two touchdowns.
Wicks said that while he specializes in deep catches, this year’s attack may focus more on shorter, timing routes, something he plans working on with quarterback Brennan Armstrong over the summer along with UVA’s other receivers.
“That’s when we build chemistry,” Wicks said.
That’s when Wicks makes the next step of being all he can be and joining Elliott’s elite list of the best he’s coached.
