Baseball: Wahoo bats on fire in 26-12 romp of George Washington

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

No. 13 Virginia belted eight home runs in a 26-12 victory at George Washington on Wednesday in Arlington. The eight home runs are the second-most in a single game in program history.

The offensive outburst marks back-to-back seasons that UVA has scored 26 runs in a game and is the 10th time since 1950 UVA has scored 26 or more runs in a game.

A school-record, seven different Cavaliers homered in the contest, including freshman Henry Ford, who hit two home runs over the right-field wall. He is the first UVA true freshman with a multi-homer game since Joe McCarthy in 2013.

Ford finished the day 4 for 6 with four runs scored and four RBI. Harrison Didawick, Henry Godbout, Griff O’Ferrall, Casey Saucke, Luke Hanson and Jacob Ference were responsible for the other six Cavalier long balls.

Virginia (12-1) has scored 26 or more runs 14 times in program history, most recently last year against Longwood. As a team, UVA accumulated 24 hits, the most since racking up 25 against Longwood last year.

The Cavaliers accumulated 54 total bases against the Revolutionaries (7-5), the most in a game in the last 25 years.

Freshman Eric Becker collected five hits on the day and was 5 for 7 at the plate. He is the second Cavalier this season (Jacob Ference vs. VMI – Feb. 28) and the 33rd UVA player ever with five or more hits in a game.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Virginia scored 14 runs in its first three innings, including a season-high, eight in the second frame. UVA scored in six of its nine turns at the plate, and 11 different players recorded a hit in the contest.

The Cavaliers sent 13 batters to the plate and hit three home runs in the eight-run second inning. All eight runs were scored with two outs. Henry Godbout delivered the big blow in the frame with the team’s first grand slam of the season. Godbout was 1 for 2 with a run scored and four RBI in the contest.

Ford hit his homers in back-to-back innings beginning with a two-run shot in the second and then led off the third with a solo shot over the right field wall. UVA led 14-4 after four innings.

The Cavaliers tacked on five runs in the fifth, three coming on a three-run dinger by Griff O’Ferrall. UVA put together a six-run, seventh inning with four cominig on home runs by Saucke and Hanson.

Righthander Ryan Osinski, an Alexandria native, was credited with the win and was one of seven UVA pitchers to see action. Osinski allowed one run in 2.1 innings of relief work and struck out on batter.

Sophomore Jack O’Connor worked the final inning of the game and struck out all three batters he faced.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• The school record for home runs in a game is 10 and was set on April 11, 1978, a 28-5 win over Maryland in seven innings. Peter Sposato set the school record and tied the NCAA record at the time with four home runs in the contest. Jay West also hit three homers in the same game.
• The Godbout grand slam was the first by a Cavalier since both Ethan Anderson and Harrison Didawick had grannies against Richmond on April 11, 2023.
• Henry Ford’s multi-homer game was the first by a Cavalier since Jake Gelof at Georgia Tech on May 20, 2023. He’s the first true freshman with a multi-home run game since Joe McCarthy hit two at Wake Forest on April 8, 2013.
• UVA batted around twice in the contest – 13 batters in the second inning and again with 11 batters in the seventh.
• The Cavaliers have won 15-straight games against George Washington and 20 of the last 21 meetings. UVA is 19-1 against the Revolutionaries under Brian O’Connor.
• Virginia has scored five more runs in an inning eight times this year.

 

UP NEXT

Virginia will continue its four-game road stint this weekend when it opens up its ACC schedule in Miami. The series opener against the Hurricanes is set for Friday at 7 p.m. The middle game is slated for a 6 p.m. start on Saturday, followed by the finale on Sunday at 1 p.m. All three games will be broadcast on ACCNX and can be heard on WINA (98.9 FM/1070 AM/WINA.com).