Four members of UVA baseball team named CBN All-Americans

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Virginia graduate student Devin Ortiz (UTL) and sophomore Jake Gelof (3B) were named second team and third team All-Americans, respectively, by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. Reliever Jay Woolfolk and outfielder Casey Saucke took home Freshman All-America honors.

The Cavaliers landed multiple All-Americans for the second time in the last three seasons and the seventh time under head coach Brian O’Connor. Virginia has placed a member on CBN’s freshman All-America team in 13 of the last 18 seasons.

Ortiz continues a long line of Cavalier utility men to be included on the team and joins the likes of Joe Koshansky, Sean Doolittle, Danny Hultzen and Adam Haseley who have all been recognized by CBN for their versatility. On the mound, Ortiz went 5-1 with a 2.03 ERA in 26.2 innings pitched. The righthander struck out 37 batters and walked only three in nine total appearances. He started all 58 games for the Cavaliers and established career-highs in nearly every offensive category. Ortiz batted .286 with (62 for 217) with 12 doubles, seven home runs and 47 RBI. He is also a finalist for the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year.

Gelof, a semifinalist for both the Dick Howser Trophy and the Golden Spikes award, was a First Team All-ACC selection at third base, bated .377 (80 for 212) with 21 home runs and a school-record 81 RBI. His 21 homers were second to Brian Buchanan’s 22 in 1994 for the most in school history. He was named the D1Baseball and Perfect Game Midseason Player of Year after getting off to a scorching start. In the Cavaliers first four home games of the season he went 9 for 10 with four home runs and 15 RBI in four games helping him garner NCBWA, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and ACC Player of the Week honors. He drove in eight runs against Cornell on Feb. 25, the most by a Cavalier since 2013 and followed up with the program’s first cycle since 2001 on Feb. 27.

Saucke began his collegiate career with a hit in the first 21 games, the longest by a UVA first year and the second longest by any UVA hitter since 2000. He continued his success at the plate and finished the year with the team’s third-highest batting average (.360) with seven home runs and 46 RBI. Saucke was recognized on the ACC All-Freshman Team at the end of the regular season.

Woolfolk turned out to be one of Virginia’s most reliable arms out of the bullpen. The hard throwing righthander tied for a team best with 28 relief appearances. In 37.2 innings pitched he fanned 55 batters while opponents hit .211 off him. Woolfolk boasted a 2.87 ERA, pitched in three of UVA’s seven shutouts and recorded wins over Boston College (March 20), Georgetown (April 20) and North Carolina (April 22).