Baseball: No. 21 Hoos blast Louisville in series opener, 15-5

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

No. 21 Virginia scored the first 13 runs, 12 with two outs, in a 15-5 series-opening win over Louisville on Friday at Disharoon Park. Virginia won its 30th home game of 2023, the most in a season since 2013.

Sophomore Ethan Anderson led the way at the plate and went 2 for 4 with a home run, a double and four RBI on the night. His double in the fifth inning was his 23rd of the season, tying the single season program record co-held by Stephen Bruno (2012) and Dan Street (2002). Classmate Griff O’Ferrall strung together four hits and was a homer short of the cycle in the contest. It was his third four-hit game of the year.

Making his final regular season start on the mound at home, Nick Parker turned in his second-straight quality start. He struck out five batters and was charged with two earned runs over 6.1 innings of work. The righthander did not allow a run and scattered two hits over in his first six innings. Parker improved to 5-0 on the season and UVA is 9-2 in games he starts this season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Anderson ignited the 3,741 fans on hand for Military Day with a three-run homer in the bottom of the first inning. The home run was his ninth of the season.
• Jake Gelof became UVA’s first player to hit 20 home runs in two different seasons with a 453-foot blast over the clubhouse in left center. He is one homer shy of matching his career-high set last season and three shy of breaking UVA’s single-season mark. The long ball gave UVA a 5-0 advantage after three innings.
• Anderson sparked another two-out rally in the fifth that led to seven runs. He matched the school doubles record with a rope down the right field line that scored Ethan O’Donnell.
• All seven runs in the fifth came with two outs, including three with one swing of the bat from Henry Godbout. He extended the UVA lead to 10-0 with his third homer of the year.
• The Cavaliers (39-11, 14-11 ACC) scored a run in each of their last three turns at the plate. Graduate student Tommy Courtney drove in UVA’s 15th run of the night on an RBI single up the middle that scored Colin Tuft in the bottom of the eighth inning.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Virginia came into the game as the national leader in doubles and added five more on Friday to up its season total to 141.
• Kyle Teel registered his 21st double of the season, one shy of matching Anderson, Bruno and Dan Street for the single-season school mark. UVA has three players with 20 doubles in the lineup (Gelof – 20) for the first time in program history.
• Virginia scored 13 of its 15 runs with two outs.
• The 10-run margin of victory over the Cardinals (29-20, 9-16) was the largest in 23-game all-time series.
• The 15 runs were second-most scored against Louisville in 23 all-time meetings. UVA scored 16 in the middle game last season (5/20/22).
• Virginia scored in the first inning for the 26th time this season and improved to 21-5 when posting a run in its first turn at the plate.
• The seven-run outburst was the 13th time this season UVA has scored seven or more runs in an inning.
• Virginia improved to 6-3 in ACC series opening games this season.

UP NEXT

The series continues Saturday with the middle game against Louisville and the contest is scheduled for a 4 p.m. first pitch on ACC Network. The Cavaliers will have LHP Connelly Early (9-1) on the mound and he will be opposed by lefty Tate Kuehner (2-2).