Baseball: No. 13 UVA falls 10-5 against UMass for first loss of season

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Posted on Saturday, Mar. 2, 2024, 6:00 pm

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Courtesy UVA Media Relations

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Photo: UVA Athletics

UMass evened the three-game series at Disharoon Park with a 10-5 victory over No. 13 Virginia on Saturday afternoon. The loss is the first for the Cavaliers this season and is the first regular season loss to a non-conference opponent since April 19, 2022.

The Minutemen (2-4) scored the game’s first six runs and later dimmed all hope of a UVA comeback effort with a three-run ninth inning. UMass scored eight of its 10 runs with two outs and capitalized on two UVA errors that led to four unearned runs. At the plate, the Cavaliers (9-1) only struck out once but were the victims of three timely UMass double plays.

Casey Saucke went 3 for 5 with an RBI and extended his hitting streak that dates back to last season’s College World Series run to 18 games. Freshman Eric Becker put forth his first career multi-hit effort with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate.

HOW IT HAPPENED

UVA starting pitcher Jack O’Connor struck out a season-high five batters but allowed six hits and six runs (four earned) in 3.2 innings pitched. UMass’ Carter Hanson hit a two-run, first-inning homer to kick off the scoring and the first two batters of the second inning came around to score to put the Minutemen up 4-0 after two innings.

The UMass defense ended the second, third and fourth innings with double plays, including a 1-2-3 twin killing with bases loaded in the bottom of the second. A leadoff walk was squandered in the third by a 4-6-3 turn and UVA got doubled up on a fly ball with two runners on to end the fourth.

Virginia posted its first run in the fifth on a successful squeeze bunt by Anthony Stephan that plated Becker. The UMass lead was cut in half in the sixth when Ethan Anderson scored on a fielder’s choice and Jacob Ference delivered a sacrifice fly to center that allowed Saucke to score from third.

UMass pushed a run across in the eighth thanks to a two-out RBI single Michael Toth, one of his four hits on the day, making it 7-3.

The Cavaliers answered in the bottom half of the eighth with a pinch-hit RBI single by Bobby Whalen that scored Saucke. Whalen is 4 for 4 with two RBI this season as a pinch-hitter.

The Minutemen rallied for three runs in the top of the ninth. Two of the runs came with two outs and both were unearned.

Saucke beat out an infield single in the bottom of the ninth to score Anthony Stephan but UMass reliever Zack Given induced a game-ending foul out to complete the 2.1-inning save.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

  • Virginia left 10 runners on base in the contest, including six in scoring position.
  • The Cavaliers had their 38-game regular season win streak against non-conference opponents snapped.
  • UVA’s last regular season non-conference loss was in extra innings at VCU on April 19, 2022.
  • UVA had won 26-straight regular season games against non-conference opponents at home coming into Saturday.
  • UMass is the first non-conference opponent to win a regular season game at Disharoon Park since ODU on April 1, 2022.

UP NEXT

The weekend series against UMass concludes on Sunday at 1 p.m. Junior righthander Jay Woolfolk (0-0) will get the start on the mound for Virginia in the series finale.