Baseball: No. 14 Hoos shut out No. 23 NC State, 7-0, to clinch series

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Posted on Saturday, Mar. 18, 2023, 2:07 am

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Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Photo: UVA Athletics

No. 14 Virginia clinched its second consecutive road ACC series with a 7-0 win over No. 23 NC State on Friday. The Cavaliers claimed their first ever series victory over NC State in Raleigh.

Up until the eighth inning, the Cavaliers (17-1, 4-1 ACC) were on the right side of a 1-0 pitcher’s duel between Cavalier righty Brian Edgington and NC State’s Matt Willadsen. The Cavaliers scored four runs in the top of the eighth inning, highlighted by a two-run home run by Kyle Teel. The Cavaliers tacked on two more insurance runs in the ninth on back-to-back doubles by Ethan O’Donnell and Jake Gelof.

Edgington earned his fourth win of the season after he pitched 6.1 innings, scattered four hits and struck out four. Evan Blanco (0.1 IP), Kevin Jaxel (0.2 IP), Angelo Tonas (0.1 IP) and Jay Woolfolk (1.1 IP) combined for UVA’s fourth shutout of the year, tied for the fourth most in the country.

Going into the weekend, Virginia had lost all 13 of its three-game road series at NC State (14-5, 1-4) dating back to 1990.

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • Edgington escaped a pair of bases loaded jams, one in the first inning and another in the fourth to keep the game scoreless. He retired all six batters in order in the second and third innings on 18 total pitches (nine in each inning).
  • The Cavaliers broke the stalemate in the fifth thanks to a leadoff double by Anthony Stephan. He advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Henry Godbout and scored on an RBI ground out by Harrison Didawick.
  • NC State starting pitcher Matt Willadsen kept UVA off balance for most of the afternoon. The righthander struck out nine batters and allowed three hits in the tough luck loss.
  • The Cavaliers jumped on the Wolfpack bullpen with four runs in the eighth. Jake Gelof made it 2-0 with an RBI double into short left field. Kyle Teel followed with a two-run laser over the right field wall, his third long ball of the year.
  • Godbout capped the rally with a two-out double to right field that allowed Ethan Anderson to score.
  • Back-to-back doubles by O’Donnell and Gelof in the ninth capped the late rally for the Cavaliers.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

  • This is the 14th three-game series in Raleigh Virginia has played against NC State. The two programs started to play three-game series with regularity beginning in 1990.
  • Prior to Friday, the only other occasion (since game locations have been consistently tracked 1969-present) that UVA had won back-to-back games in Raleigh was a doubleheader sweep in on May 9, 1969.
  • Virginia has won its first two road series of the year against Top-25 opponents for the first time since 2016, when it took two out of three against then-No. 13 North Carolina and then-No. 1 Miami.
  • UVA has 17 wins in its first 18 games for the second-straight season and the fourth time under Brian O’Connor (2009, 2011, 2022, 2023).
  • Virginia did not record an extra base hit in game one of the series but tallied eight (seven doubles and one home run) on Friday.
  • UVA passed NC State for the national lead in doubles with 55.

UP NEXT

The three-game ACC series wraps up on Saturday at 2 p.m. Virginia will have freshman Jack O’Connor (1-1) on the mound and he will be opposed by lefty Dominic Fritton (1-0).