Baseball: No. 13 UVA wraps up homestand with 6-3 win over Nittany Lions

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Posted on Tuesday, Mar. 5, 2024, 8:00 pm

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Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Photo: UVA Athletics

No. 13 Virginia never trailed in a 6-3 win over Penn State (7-4) on Tuesday at Disharoon Park. It marked the 850th career victory for head coach Brian O’Connor, who is in his 21st season as head coach of the Cavaliers.

Virginia (11-1) scored five of its six runs in the first four innings and the Cavalier bullpen tossed 4.1 scoreless frames to seal the victory in Virginia’s final game of a five-game homestand. Junior Griff O’Ferrall went 2 for 4 with two RBI and Harrison Didawick hit his team-best, fourth home run of the season in a 1-for-2 effort at the plate.

Reliever Chase Hungate was credited with the win after taking over in the fifth inning and striking out three of the five batters he faced. Aidan Teel threw 11 pitches in the ninth inning to record his fourth save of the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Virginia scored in the first inning for only the third time this season when Casey Saucke singled home Henry Ford with two outs to plate the game’s first run. Saucke went 2 for 4 in the contest, his team-leading seventh multi-hit effort of the season.

Didawick made it 2-0 in the second with a lead-off homer that landed in the Cavalier bullpen in right field. The sophomore has matched his season home run total from last year in 12 games.

The Cavaliers rallied for three more runs in the fourth, the first coming on an RBI triple by Henry Godbout, the second triple of his career.

Run-scoring hits by Luke Hanson and O’Ferrall gave UVA a 5-0 lead after the first four innings of play.

Penn State (7-4) finally got to UVA starting pitcher Owen Coady in the fifth inning who was one out shy of recording his first win at Virginia. The Nittany Lions sent eight batters to the plate and recorded five hits in the frame to cut the Cavalier lead in half. Coady struck out five batters and allowed just three hits in his first four innings of work.

Leading 5-3 going into the eighth, O’Ferrall provided some insurance with a one out single up the middle that scored Bobby Whalen.

Hungate struck out the final batter in the fifth and fanned the first two batters he faced in the sixth before being lifted with two outs. Angelo Tonas (1.0 IP, 2 SO), Ryan Osinski (0.1 IP), Blake Barker (1.0 IP, 2 SO) and Teel (1.0 IP) did not allow a runner to reach second base over the final 4.1 innings.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

  • O’Connor has a career record of 850-354-2 in 21 seasons at Virginia. His .706 winning percentage is the highest of any active head coach in DI college baseball. O’Connor is one of eight coaches in ACC history with 850 career wins while a member of the league.
  • Virginia improved to 8-1 at home this season.
  • UVA is 16-10 all-time against Penn State and 5-1 against the Nittany Lions under Brian O’Connor.
  • Saucke has reached base safely in 20-straight games dating back to UVA’s postseason run in 2023.
  • Ethan Anderson, Godbout and Anthony Stephan have now reached base safely in all 12 games this season.
  • Barker and Tonas were each credited with their third bullpen holds of the season
  • Of Virginia’s 13 home runs this season, five have led off an inning.

UP NEXT

The Cavaliers will begin a four-game stint on the road Wednesday when they travel to George Washington for non-conference bout. First pitch in the contest is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.