Southpaw trio leads UVA baseball into opening weekend

By Scott Ratcliffe

As Virginia baseball heads into its 134th season this weekend, head coach Brian O’Connor will do something he hasn’t done across his storied 18-year career.

O’Connor’s Cavaliers, ranked No. 5 by Baseball America, will begin play in the Jerry Bryson Classic (hosted by Gardner-Webb University), and he will be rolling out a trio of southpaws to start the season for the first time as Wahoo skipper.

Senior Brandon Neeck, junior Nate Savino and grad transfer Brian Gursky — all left-handers — will start this weekend’s three contests on the mound in Boiling Springs, N.C.

“You like it…,” O’Connor said of the three-lefty approach, “certainly everybody talks about there being an advantage being a left-handed pitcher. There’s a couple of reasons why that is, they control the running game and execute — I like it.

“Who knows where we’ll be next weekend or the weekend after, but that’s how we’re starting out and I like where it’s at.”

O’Connor added that while none of the three pitchers have really been in this spot for the Hoos, he feels they’ve proven themselves capable throughout the preseason.

“They need experience,” said O’Connor. “They don’t have a lot of experience. Brandon Neeck hasn’t thrown that many innings for us, Nate Savino’s probably thrown 75 innings in his career, and Brian Gursky is a transfer from University of Southern Cal, and he didn’t pitch a whole lot there.

“So there’s talent, but they’re lacking some experience and I’m excited for them to get that.”

Neeck (2-0, 1.93 ERA in 2021), who will be forever remembered by UVA fans for coming out of the bullpen to fan 16 Old Dominion batters en route to another trip to Omaha last spring, gets the nod Friday against Bellarmine at 1 p.m.

“Hopefully I can help get us off to the start we want for the season and go from there, but I’m very excited about it, of course,” Neeck said of being named opening-day starter.

In fact, it will be Neeck’s first career start, and O’Connor believes that his previous relief experience will be a key component this season.

“Certainly, it’s easy to point towards his outing against Old Dominion in the Regional,” said O’Connor, who described it as “one of the most dominant relief outings” he’s seen in college baseball.

“It’s his poise,” the coach said of Neeck. “It just doesn’t seem like any moment is too big for him, and he’s got good stuff… he’s got a 90-mile-an-hour fastball and a good slider and a good changeup, and I think he has the makings of somebody that could be a real good starter in our league.”

Savino, who went 3-3 with a 3.79 ERA a season ago, will start Saturday’s 3-p.m. contest against host Gardner-Webb. Gursky, who made 15 starts in his four seasons at USC, takes the hill Sunday at 11 a.m. against NJIT, a team that gave top-seeded Arkansas fits last postseason.

The Cavaliers’ fifth-ever trip to the College World Series in 2021 was truly a memorable one, but as is the case every year, there will be new faces in new roles up and down the roster with a few familiar faces mixed in.

Gone are a handful of starters — shortstop Nic Kent, third baseman Zack Gelof, catcher Logan Michaels and left fielder Brendan Rivoli, along with starting pitchers Andrew Abbott and Griff McGarry, and relievers Blake Bales, Stephen Schoch and Kyle Whitten.

Kyle Teel, who last season became the first Cavalier since 2008 to lead the team in batting average (.335) as a freshman, moves permanently behind the plate to start at catcher as a sophomore in 2022.

Teel, a member of the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List, played 15 games at catcher last year, while also serving as designated hitter and playing in right field. He’ll look to extend his current 26-game on-base streak Friday afternoon.

Graduate Devin Ortiz is back at first base, junior Max Cotier returns at second, while junior Chris Newell and graduate student Alex Tappen will be back in the outfield for the Cavaliers.

Sophomore Jake Gelof, who spent the majority of the 2021 campaign at first base, will take over the hot corner at third, while freshman Griff O’Ferrall will start at shortstop.

“He did a great job all fall,” O’Connor said. “He’s a good leader for an 18-year old that’s a first-year in college baseball. He knows what’s going on, I anticipate him probably leading off… He’s done what he’s needed to do to earn that opportunity, so I have a lot of confidence in him.”

Among the other first-year additions that the coach expects to instantly contribute with the bat are Ethan Anderson, Casey Saucke and Colin Tuft.

Anderson, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound switch-hitter from Virginia Beach who enrolled a year early, will back up Teel behind the plate, and will also occasionally play at first and serve as a DH.

“He has earned opportunities to be in our lineup right away out of the gate,” said O’Connor, “so I like what he can do.”

Pitching-wise, O’Connor sees big things from second-year lefty Jake Berry and junior Matt Wyatt, along with a pair of grad transfers, Will Geerdes (Columbia) and Dylan Bowers (Northern Colorado). Ortiz will also pitch from time to time, while freshman Jay Woolfolk, who will likely again be quarterback Brennan Armstrong’s primary backup in the fall, “has the kind of stuff that could potentially finish a game,” according to O’Connor.

“It’s a matter of us spending the first few weeks to figure out what roles are those,” the coach said of his pitching staff, “and who is best-suited for each individual role.”

The Cavaliers are 13-5 in season-opening games and 40-15-1 in season-opening series under O’Connor. None of this weekend’s games will be televised, but fans are encouraged to listen to the call on WINA (1070 AM, 98.9 FM and online anywhere at wina.com).

The home opener at Disharoon Park is scheduled for Tuesday at 3 p.m. against VMI. That game, along with all three of next weekend’s home series against Cornell, will be broadcast via ACC Network Extra.