Baseball: Gelof matches HR record as Cavaliers sweep Miami, 6-3

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

No. 7 Virginia recorded its second ACC series sweep of the season after a 6-3 win over No. 20 Miami on Sunday at Disharoon Park. Junior Jake Gelof drove in four of the six runs and tied the program’s all-time home run record with a pair of homers in the contest.

Gelof hit his 36th and 37th home runs of his career, moving him into a tie with E.J. Anderson (1995-98) for most career home runs in UVA history. The multi-home run performance was the sixth of his career and he finished the day 2 for 4 with four RBI. In three games against Miami, Gelof went 7 for 14 with three home runs, a double, a triple and nine RBI.

With the victory, Virginia (28-4, 11-4 ACC) takes over sole possession of first place in the ACC Coastal Division and extended the nation’s longest home win streak to 21 games.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• For the second-straight day, the Cavaliers needed to erase an early Miami deficit after a pair of Hurricane runs came across in the third inning on run-scoring hits by Yohandy Morales and Zach Levenson.
• Gelof erased the deficit with one swing in the fourth when he launched a two-run homer into the left field bleachers. The long ball was part of a four-run, fourth inning to capture a 4-2 lead.
• The Cavaliers captured the lead for good on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Anthony Stephan that scored Kyle Teel. A two-out RBI single by Henry Godbout that plated Stephan gave Virginia a two-run cushion.
• In the very next inning it would be Gelof again with a two-run shot to extend the UVA lead to 6-4. The multi-home run effort was his sixth of his career, already a program record. Gelof has a team-best 12 home runs on the year.
• Virginia starting pitcher Jack O’Connor bounced back from his shortest outing of the season last week to his longest of the year. The freshman tossed six innings, allowed three runs and struck out a season-high nine batters. He fanned the final batter of the inning in each of his first five frames.
• He turned the ball over to Evan Blanco in the seventh who sat down the final two batters to end a Miami threat. Kevin Jaxel sat down the Hurricanes in order in the top of the eighth before Jake Berry closed out threw a 1-2-3 ninth to record his fourth save of the year.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Virginia has two ACC series sweeps in the same season for the first time since 2016.
• The Cavaliers swept Miami (20-12, 8-7) for the second time in 21 all-time series. UVA took all three against the Hurricanes in 2012 at Mark Light Field.
• Virginia improved to 7-2 against D1Baseball Top 25 teams in 2023.
• Gelof homered in back-to-back innings for the second time in his career (Cornell – 2/25)
• Gelof came into the weekend as the ACC leader in RBI and upped his season total to 53.
• Teel and O’Ferrall each extended their reached base streaks to 32 and 23, respectively.

UP NEXT

The Cavaliers continue its eight-game home stand with a pair of midweek contests at Disharoon Park. Virginia will host Richmond on Tuesday and will take on Mount St. Mary’s on Wednesday. Both contest are slated for 4 p.m. starts.