Big fourth inning helps No. 3 Virginia clinch weekend series

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Photo courtesy UVA Athletics.

Third-ranked Virginia (25-3, 9-3 ACC) posted a 10-run, fourth inning in a 18-9 series-clinching win over No. 22 Georgia Tech (18-11, 5-7 ACC) on Sunday. The victory took place in front of 5,286 fans at Disharoon Park, the most ever at a UVA baseball game.

Virginia fell behind twice in the contest, 3-0 in the first inning and 4-3 in the top of the fourth. The Cavaliers then sent 15 batters to the plate, collected seven hits and scored 10 runs, the most in an inning this season and the most by UVA in a single inning since scoring 11 against VMI in 2016. The Cavaliers used a seven-run rally in the sixth inning of Saturday’s contest to help even the series. UVA has scored five or more runs in an inning 18 times this season.

Jake Gelof hit his 14th home run of the year, an opposite field shot onto the porch in right field in the sixth inning as part of a 3-for-6, three-run and three RBI day at the plate. The home run was the 39th hit by the Cavaliers at Disharoon Park this season, breaking the program mark of 38 by the 2017 club over the course of 34 home games.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• For the third-straight game, Georgia Tech took the lead in its half of the first inning. The first three batters came around to score, two on a two-run home run by Andrew Jenkins. The long ball was his third of the series.
• Freshman Griff O’Ferrall, who cleared the bases in the second inning on Saturday to give UVA its first lead of the series, came up with his first triple of the season on Sunday to tie the game at three in the bottom of the second.
• Georgia Tech took its final lead of the day in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Drew Compton.
• In the 10-run inning, Max Cotier drove in three runs and had two hits. Freshman Casey Saucke also had two hits in the frame to go along with two runs scored and two RBI. Five of the runs came with two outs.
• The Yellow Jackets, who came into the weekend with the 10th highest team batting average in the country peppered Virginia for an opponent-high, 14 hits and scored five runs over their last four trips to the plate.
• Virginia starting pitcher Jake Berry was credited with this third win of the season after logging 5.2 innings of work. Will Geerdes pitched the final two innings and struck out three batters. It was the ninth game Geerdes has finished this season.

FROM HEAD COACH BRIAN O’CONNOR

“I just want to say how grateful we are as coaches and players for our fans. A day like today to have the largest crowd in the history of our stadium is really something pretty special because obviously we we’ve had some pretty good teams and for the fans to come out and the people have worked so hard to build the excitement about coming out to the ballpark. Today was a day that they were rewarded and it’s just amazing. You talk to some of these young players that are in the program, they’ve never played in front of anything like this. They’ve said to us coaches, is this is what it was like back in 2009, 2011, 2013, those kinds of years? Because of COVID things went away a little bit and it’s just so nice to see that the community comes out and supports these guys and what they’re doing. It’s certainly a big win for us. Losing on Friday night and then coming back and winning the next two. I’ll tell you, it doesn’t matter which ones you win whether you win the first one or you win the next two. It’s a matter of winning the series and I thought our guys really, really battled. The 10-run inning in the fourth was pretty amazing. It was kind of like yesterday where it was just one hit after another and with two outs we just kept tacking on. So credit to our guys for being relentless with the bats and putting them away.”

UP NEXT: The Cavaliers conclude a five-game stint at home with a non-conference tilt against Liberty on Wednesday (April 6). The contest will be televised on ACC Network with first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m. at Disharoon Park.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• The 5,286 fans at Disharooon Park eclipses the previous mark of 5,074 on April 12, 2012 against North Carolina. There have been 13 crowds of 5,000+ in Disharoon Park history. Including Sunday, only two have been in the regular season.
• The 18 runs were the most Virginia has ever scored against Georgia Tech in 140 all-time meetings. The Cavaliers have won six-straight series against the Yellow Jackets at Disharoon Park.
• Tappen extended his reached base streak to 27 games with a walk in the second inning. The reached base streak is the longest in a single season by a Cavaliers since Zack Gelof reached base in the first 28 games of his career back in 2018. Kyle Teel had a reached base streak of 36 games that spanned over the course of two seasons (2021 and 2022).
• Virginia has scored 10 or more runs in 17 of the 28 games this season, including all but two at Disharoon Park.
• Opponents have scored in the first inning against Virginia seven times in the first 28 games. Georgia Tech is responsible for three of those opening-inning rallies.

Third-ranked Virginia evens series with Georgia Tech, winning 13-9

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Photo courtesy UVA Athletics.

Third-ranked Virginia (24-3, 8-3 ACC) scored seven runs in the sixth inning en route to a 13-9 victory over No. 22 Georgia Tech (18-10, 5-7 ACC) on Saturday at Disharoon Park. The victory evens the series and forces a rubber match on Sunday (April 3).

The game-changing rally marked the 17th time this season UVA has scored five or more runs in an inning. It broke open a one-run game and held off the Yellow Jackets who scored four runs over the final three turns at the plate. After the second home run of the day from Andrew Jenkins in the eighth, Cavalier lefthander Brandon Neeck came on in relief and struck out four of the final five batters of the game to seal the victory.

For Virginia, 10 of the 13 runs scored in the contest were driven in by three players. First year Griff O’Ferrall drove in a game-high four runs in a 3-for-6 effort at the plate. Graduate student Alex Tappen collected three RBI while freshman Colin Tuft matched a season high with three RBI.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Georgia Tech jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first for the second-straight day. Kevin Parada scored on a double steal attempt and Drew Compton was issued a two-out, bases loaded walk in the frame.
• The Cavaliers took the lead for good on one swing of the bat in the bottom of the second. O’Ferrall cleared the bases with a double down the left field line. He came around to score on an RBI single by Devin Ortiz to cap a four-run inning. The 4-2 lead was UVA’s first of the series.
• The two clubs exchanged runs in the third inning, Andrew Jenkins hit a solo home run, his first hit of the series. The Cavaliers manufactured a run in the bottom half when Chris Newell scored on a Tuft RBI ground out.
• The Yellow Jackets pulled within a run again in the top of the sixth. Jaydn Jackson delivered a two-out double down the right field line that scored two.
• The sixth inning UVA rally saw 12 batters come to the plate and seven runs score on six hits. The catalyst was Tappen who lined a single into left field that scored two. The next five runs all came with two outs on singles to the middle of the field from Tuft, Justin Rubin, O’Farrall and Teel.

FROM HEAD COACH BRIAN O’CONNOR

“Just a really gutty team win right there. Both teams were really good offensively. Certainly, the four runs in the in the second inning and the seven runs in the sixth were huge for us to give us some separation because they didn’t stop. They don’t stop coming at you offensively. They have a very good club. I just thought that that sixth inning we just kept getting so many knocks and up the middle one after the other was really the game and but again after that they didn’t stop going away. I loved to see what Brandon Neeck did at the end of the game. Obviously, when you take somebody out of the starting rotation, you’d never know how they’re going to handle that. he didn’t pout and he didn’t feel sorry for himself. He came out tonight and candidly pitched the best he’s pitched since he pitched against Old Dominion last year in the in the regional.”

UP NEXT: The three-game series concludes on Sunday (April 3) with game three set for a 1 p.m. first pitch at Disharoon Park. Virginia will have lefty Jake Berry (3-0) on the mound while Georgia Tech will start righthander Marquis Grisssom Jr. (1-2). Sunday is Youth Day as well as Heroes Appreciation at the ballpark. All active-duty military and first responders will receive free admission. For the kids, there will be an inflatable bounce house and obstacle course, balloon artist, face painters, poster giveaway and after the game kids can run the bases and get autographs on the field.

No. 22 Georgia Tech snaps #3 UVA’s home win streak

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Photo courtesy UVA Athletics.

No. 22 Georgia Tech (18-9, 5-5 ACC) put a halt to third-ranked Virginia’s school-record, 19-game home win streak with a 6-4 series-opening win on Friday at Disharoon Park. The Cavaliers drop to 23-3 overall and 7-3 in ACC action this season. The home loss for UVA is the first since May 4, 2021.

Georgia Tech never trailed in the contest and scored in three of its first four trips to the plate, opening a 6-3 advantage after four innings of play. Neither bullpen surrendered a run in a combined 9.1 innings pitched.

For the Cavaliers, freshman Jay Woolfolk struck out a season-high six batters over the final three innings of the game. He pitched himself out of a jam in the seventh by striking out the last two batters of the frame and went on to retire six of the last seven batter he faced. Woolfolk followed two perfect innings by Dylan Bowers who fanned three batters.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• In the first inning, the Yellow Jackets capitalized on a botched inning-ending double play attempt that eventually allowed two runs to score. In the second, Tres Gonzales reached on double that was lost in the sun by centerfielder Chris Newell and eventually came around to score one of the two runs the frame.
• In what proved to be the difference in the contest, Yellow Jacket catcher Kevin Parada blasted a two-out, two-run homer in the top of the fourth to make the score 6-3. The long ball was his 11th on the year.
• The Cavaliers responded to each of Georgia Tech’s first two scoring frames. Devin Ortiz plated Kyle Teel who reached on a double in the first inning and Casey Saucke singled home Alex Tappen to score in the second.
• Virginia’s RBI leaders Jake Gelof and Alex Tappen chipped in run-scoring base hits in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively. Gelof now has 48 RBI on the season while Tappen upped his season total to 39.
• The clutch hit eluded the bats in the late innings as UVA left the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth and sixth. In the sixth, the first three runners reached and after two strikeouts, the inning ended on a circus catch by shortstop Jaydn Jackson.
• Georgia Tech’s Zach Maxwell pitched the final four innings and fanned six batters to earn the victory, his second of the season.

FROM HEAD COACH BRIAN O’CONNOR

“I thought Georgia Tech a great job against Nate Savino. He’s been pitching really, really great baseball for us and has done a terrific job. They had a great approach against him. (Kevin) Parada, the catcher, is a heck of a player. He’s got a bunch of home runs and drove that slider out of here, which was a big hit in the ball game. They did a great job of minimizing innings, we couldn’t get a crooked number up there, we had four innings where we scored one run. When they brought Maxwell out of the pen, that was a big moment. Bases loaded with no outs that we were not able to capitalize and that’s to his (Maxwell’s) credit. Obviously, he’s got great stuff. I thought we fought and battled and we out-hit them. We were not quite opportunistic enough and gave away too many free passes. That’s baseball in this league, you do that and you don’t capitalize on innings, you get beat by good teams and they’re a very, very good team.”

UP NEXT: The ACC series continues on Saturday (April 2) with the middle game of a three-game set. The Cavaliers will have lefty Brian Gursky (5-0) on the mound and he will be opposed by fellow southpaw, Cody Carwile (2-1). First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Disharoon Park.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Virginia out-hit Georgia Tech 11-7 in the contest. The last time Virginia out-hit an opponent and lost was in the College World Series against eventual National Champion Mississippi State last season.
• Until tonight, the Cavaliers had won their last eight ACC series openers dating back to last season.
• Tappen extended his reached base streak to 25 games with a 2-for-4 effort at the plate. He had a ground rule double in the second and later scored on an infield single by Saucke.
• In addition to Tappen, Teel, Newell and freshman Ethan Anderson put together two-hit efforts at the plate.
• Starting pitcher Nate Savino was charged with five earned runs, coming into the game he had only allowed eight earned runs in his previous 35 innings pitched.

No. 3 Virginia hosts No. 22 Georgia Tech in ACC action this weekend

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Photo courtesy UVA Athletics.

No. 3 Virginia (23-2, 7-2 ACC) will host Georgia Tech (17-9, 4-5 ACC) in a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series this weekend at Disharoon Park. The series opener is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. All three games are set to air live on ACCNX.

GAME COVERAGE: ACCNX is available to authenticated subscribers of the ACC Network through the ESPN app and ESPN.com. In addition, all three games can be heard locally in Charlottesville on WINA (98.9 FM/1070 AM) or anywhere on WINA.com. Links to live stats are available on VirginiaSports.com. Fans can get in-game updates on the team’s official twitter page (@UVABaseball).

WEEKEND PROMOTIONS

All Weekend – Fans can visit the Sombrero’s food truck that will be stationed near the LF gate entrance.

Saturday – Emoji Day, Free Virginia Baseball Emoji Posters and Emoji themed in-game promotions.

Sunday – Youth Day face painters, balloon artists, inflatable slides/obstacle courses and collectable poster No. 2.

Sunday – Heroes Day – Active duty military, veterans and responders receive complimentary admission

Sunday – $2 Concession items – Hot Dogs, Popcorn & 20 oz Pepsi products

PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS

Friday – 6 p.m.

Georgia Tech: RHP Chance Huff (2-1, 5.17 ERA, 31.1 IP, 10 BB, 33 SO)

Virginia: LHP Nate Savino (4-0, 2.08 ERA, 35.0 IP, 8 BB, 40 SO)

Saturday – 4 p.m.

Georgia Tech: LHP Cody Carwile (2-1, 1.45 ERA, 18.2 IP, 4 BB, 15 SO)

Virginia: LHP Brian Gursky (5-0, 2.00 ERA, 27.0 IP, 10 BB, 33 SO)

Sunday – 1 p.m.

Georgia Tech: RHP Marquis Grissom Jr. (1-2, 3.27 ERA, 22.0 IP, 12 BB, 21 SO)

Virginia: LHP Jake Berry (3-0, 2.42 ERA, 22.1 IP, 8 BB, 38 SO)

LEADING OFF

• The series between Virginia and Georgia Tech is the only matchup of two top-15 NCAA RPI teams in college baseball this weekend. As of Thursday, Virginia enters the series with an RPI of 11 while Georgia Tech comes in as No. 15
• Virginia went 16-2 in the month of March, the sixth time Virginia has won 16 or more games under O’Connor in March (2014 – 17; 2013 – 17; 2011 – 19; 2010 – 16; 2008 – 16).
• Georgia Tech will be the first opponent this season ranked inside the D1Baseball.com Top-25 poll. Virginia went 5-10 against ranked foes in the 2021 regular season.
• UVA comes into the weekend with a school record, 19-straight wins at home.
• The 19 consecutive home wins is tied for the third-longest active streak in college baseball (Tennessee – 25; North Carolina – 21; UConn – 18)
• This weekend’s series pits two of the top 10 hitting teams in the country. The Cavaliers .331 team batting average is the fourth-highest in the nation and Georgia Tech’s .321 team average is the 10th-highest in college baseball.
• The Cavaliers have matched their single season-high in home runs at Disharoon Park since the facility opened in 2002 with 38. The 2017 team hit 38 home runs in 34 games played. UVA has hit a home run in 20 of the 25 games this season and all but two contests at home.

AMONG THE NATION’S BEST

• Virginia is a consensus top-5 team for the first time this year, coming in at No. 4 according to D1Baseball.com. The Cavaliers have jumped 15 spots since entering the top 25 at No. 19 on March 14.
• Virginia ranks in the top-8 nationally in batting average (4th – .331), earned run average (2nd – 2.12) and fielding percentage (8th – .984). Only one other program in the country (Texas) is ranked in the top-20 in each category.
• The UVA offense is scoring 11.0 runs per game, the second highest scoring attack in the country. The Virginia bats also rank fourth nationally in slugging percentage (.562), fifth in hits (297), sixth in home runs (46) and sixth in on-base percentage (.440).
• Virginia earned its highest regular season ranking from D1Baseball.com since week five of the 2015 season. The Cavaliers have been inside the top-5 of the Baseball America poll in all but one week this season.
• The Cavaliers have racked up 23 wins in 25 games, the second most wins of any team in the country. There are only three teams nationally with less than three losses (Tennessee – 1; Purdue – 1; Virginia – 2).
• Sophomore Jake Gelof is the country’s leader slugging percentage (1.085) and is tied for the most home runs of anyone in college baseball. His 47 RBI are one behind Carlos Contreas of Sam Houston State for the national lead.
• Through just 25 games, Alex Tappen has already eclipsed career highs in RBI (38) and home runs (8). His 38 RBI in 95 at bats are tied for the sixth most in the country.

AGAINST GEORGIA TECH

• The turning point of the 2021 season came exactly one year ago. On April 1, 2021, the Cavaliers dropped the opener of a three-game set in Atlanta, 6-5 to then No. 6 Georgia Tech dropping UVA to 4-12 in ACC play. The Cavaliers went on to win 14 of its last 21 league contests and six of the last seven ACC series to finish 18-18 in league play.
• Under Brian O’Connor, Virginia is 32-22-1 against the Yellow Jackets.
• Georgia Tech leads Virginia 76-59-2 in an all-time series that dates back to 1924.
• The Yellow Jackets visit Charlottesville for the first time since 2018. UVA has won five-straight series against GT at Disharoon Park (2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018).

HOME COOKING

• Virginia has scored 10 or more runs in all but two of its 16 games at home this season.
• The Cavaliers are outscoring opponents 219-47 at the Dish this season and have recorded a pair of shutouts at their home ballpark.
• Virginia eclipsed its previous mark of 18-straight wins at home set back in 2008 when the Cavaliers won its first 18 games of the season. The win streak ended with a 17-5 loss to George Washington in the midweek.

NOTING THE ROTATION

• The Cavaliers will have all lefthanders on the bump for the sixth-straight weekend. Sophomore Jake Berry enters the rotation for the first time and will pitch in Sunday’s finale.
• Friday night starter Nate Savino has produced four-straight quality starts that include ACC wins against Duke and Wake Forest. He limited the nation’s No. 5 offense to four hits over 6.1 innings last week in Winston-Salem.
• Saturday’s scheduled starter Brian Gursky was scratched last Saturday due to illness. The graduate transfer has won all five of his starts this season and is poised to see his first action since tossing six innings of one-run baseball against Boston College on March 19.
• Sophomore Jake Berry will make his second start of his career after pitching five hitless innings last weekend at Wake Forest. The lefthander struck out a career-high nine in a combined one-hitter against the Demon Deacons. Berry retired nine of the first 10 batters, six by way of the strikeout. Berry almost pitched in his second no-hitter after getting the final two outs of the eighth inning against Wake Forest in a combined no-no with Andrew Abbott and Griff McGarry last season.

CAVALIER TIDBITS

• Alex Tappen has hit six home runs in his last nine games played. Last Saturday he went deep twice at Wake Forest, the first multi-homer game of his career. He has reached base in 24-straight games and has 21 career home runs, the first Cavalier to reach the 20 career homer plateau since Pavin Smith (28) and Adam Haseley (21) in 2017.
• Catcher Kyle Teel has reached base in all but one game this season and has started every contest for the Cavaliers behind the plate. He had a 36-game reached base streak that carried over from last season end against Penn State on March 6th.
• The one-two punch of Griff O’Ferrall and Chris Newell on the basepaths have helped UVA rank second in the ACC in stolen bases with 39. O’Ferrall’s 11 swiped bags are the fourth most in the ACC and Newell is right behind him with 10, tied for the fifth most in the league. Newell is averaging 1.36 runs per game, the 16th most in the NCAA.