Baseball: No. 14 UVA hangs on for 10-8 win over Hofstra to open 2024 season

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

No. 14 Virginia scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth and came away with a 10-8 victory over Hofstra on Friday at Disharoon Park. The Cavaliers played in front of a crowd of 3,575, the second largest in an opener in program history.

Griff O’Ferrall, Anthony Stephan and freshman Henry Ford each had two-hit efforts to lead the Cavaliers attack. UVA (1-0) broke an 7-7 tie in the eighth by taking advantage of four walks, two passed balls and two wild pitches in the game changing inning. In his collegiate debut, second year Aidan Teel, struck out the final two batters with the tying run on second base to seal the victory.

Virginia erased a pair of deficits in the contest to clinch their sixth-straight opening day victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Hofstra (0-1) had two hits and plated an unearned run in the first inning to grab the initial advantage. The Pride had leads of 1-0 and 4-1 on the day.

O’Ferrall, UVA’s first batter of the game, evened the game up with a 415-foot blast into the left field bleachers, only his second home run of his career.

After falling behind 4-1, the Cavaliers plated six runs in the top of the sixth. Ford’s first collegiate hit, a single up the middle, tied the game at four.

Sophomore Harrison Didawick gave UVA a 7-4 cushion with a two-run homer to left center field to cap the rally. The long ball was his fifth of his career.

Hofstra chipped away at the three-run Cavalier advantage with two runs in the seventh and a solo homer by Matt Pelcher that led off the eighth and knotted the game at seven.

Virginia didn’t need a hit in its half of the eighth to recapture the lead. Casey Saucke, who plated the go-ahead run in the sixth, scored on a passed ball to give UVA an 8-7 lead. Didawick and Jacob Ference each came around on wild pitches to make it a three-run frame.

Teel came on to pitch in the ninth with runners on first and second and gave up an RBI single to Alex McCoy. He fanned the final two batters to close the game up, earning his first career save.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Three Cavaliers made their collegiate debuts in the contest – Henry Ford (DH), Eric Becker (3B) and Teel (reliever). Transfers Blake Barker (reliever), Ference (starting catcher) and Bobby Whalen (defensive substitution) played in their first game as a Cavalier.
• O’Ferrall led off the game with a home run. Both of his home runs in his career have led off a game. He hit a leadoff homer in game two of the 2023 Super Regional against Duke.
• Virginia has won six-straight opening day games and improve to 16-5 under Brian O’Connor in season openers.
• Virginia drew 3,575 fans at the contest, second only to the crowd at the 2018 home opener against VMI (3,709). The contest in 2018 was the first game after Disharoon Park underwent a $18.6 million expansion.
• The meeting between Virginia and Hofstra was the first in 72 years. UVA is now 3-0 all-time against the Pride.
• The Cavaliers have now won 16-straight February games dating back to the 2022 season.

UP NEXT

The second game of a three-game set against Hofstra will take place on Saturday at 1 p.m. inside Disharoon Park. The Cavaliers will have sophomore lefthander Evan Blanco on the mound and he will be opposed by Hofstra righty Steven Kaenzig. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.