After a solid week that included an important home series win over then-10th-ranked North Carolina and a midweek win over VCU, the Virginia baseball team departed for a matchup against Louisville. The Cavaliers (28-8, 11-7 ACC) enter the series ranked 11th in the nation, while the Cardinals (21-14, 7-8 ACC) are unranked. Despite losing the middle game of the series, Virginia won the remaining two games and was able to defeat an inferior opponent on the road.
Game 1 — Virginia 21, Louisville 3
It was the third time this season that the Cavalier offense scored 20 or more points in a game. This time it was all about long hits. Freshman infielder Henry Ford led off with a hard hit to left-center field, giving Virginia a 2-0 lead and the team never looked back. Louisville got one run back in the bottom of the first inning with a home run of their own, but it ultimately didn't matter.
The Cavaliers added three more runs in the second inning on a home run by graduate catcher Jacob Ference and big hits by junior infielder Griff O'Ferrall and graduate outfielder Bobby Whalen. Virginia then added one more run in the third inning when Ford hit his second home run of the game. Although they were already leading by a few points, Virginia's offense cooled down a bit and the game stalled for several innings at 6-1.
However, this situation did not last long, as both teams scored two runs in the sixth inning, and the Cavaliers added three runs with back-to-back singles in the seventh. Leading 11-3 after the ninth inning, Virginia was already almost certain to win the game.
But they certainly sealed the deal in the final frame. The Cavaliers had nine hits (two home runs) in the ninth inning and added 10 more runs for a final score of 21-3. Taking a commanding lead early in the game was crucial to ending the Cardinal's hopes of a comeback.
“Offensively, we jumped right out,” coach Brian O'Connor said. “We had a lot of guys who had a great day.”
Meanwhile, the University of Virginia got an incredible performance from sophomore pitcher Evan Blanco, who looked like the ace of the Cavalier staff, with 11 strikeouts.
“Evan Blanco pitched great all year. He gave us a chance to win,” O'Connor said. “I thought last week was going to be his best performance of the year, and today he built on that and got even better.”
Game 2 — Virginia 10, Louisville 14
While Virginia came out strong in Game 1, it was quite the opposite in Game 2. The Cardinals' offense took advantage of another bad pitch from sophomore pitcher Kevin Jaxel, who gave up more runs than innings pitched. Jaxel was removed after just one inning, allowing Louisville to score five runs on five hits. The Cardinals added two more runs in the second and third innings from junior pitcher Blake Barker, but things didn't get any better.
Even though they were losing 9-1 until the third inning, the Cavaliers did not give up. Consecutive walks and singles by Ference, sophomore infielder Luke Hanson, freshman infielder Eric Becker, and O'Ferrall led to four runs in the fourth inning. The pitching settled down a bit as well, with junior pitcher Jay Woolfolk blanking Louisville for several innings.
Unfortunately, this situation did not last long as the Cardinals defeated Virginia 5-0 in the 6th and 7th innings to go up 14-5. here, Cavalier bullpen lacks depth, the challenges throughout the season really shined through. Once Woolfolk lost momentum, there was no one to support him and generate outs.
A comeback late in the game gave Virginia hope. In the 8th inning, Becker singled to lead off a 2-run lead, and in the 9th inning, sophomore utility player Aidan Teal hit a 3-run home run to bring the Cavaliers within 5 points. However, the comeback ended there and left a bitter taste in the team's mouth.
“We didn't play Virginia baseball today,” O'Connor said. “We gave up too many free passes whether it was walks or stolen bases, and we couldn't handle the ball well defensively.”
Game 3 — Virginia 16, Louisville 7
Determined to win the road series, Virginia struck early and often in Game 3. Sophomore outfielder Harrison Didawicz led off with a solo hit into the right-field seats, and Becker followed with a few singles and drove in three runs, making the score 4-0 at the end of the second inning. Junior outfielder Casey Salk extended the lead to 5-0 with another solo home run, then Louisville answered with a home run of his own.
The Cavaliers then scored a few runs with small ball, raising the score to 7-3 by the fifth inning on junior utility man Ethan Anderson's sacrifice fly and Deidawick's steal of home base.
From there, long balls dominated the game. Virginia had consecutive hits and Ford's home run led to an 11-3 lead, but Cardinal's home run made it 11-4. After Hanson hit two home runs in the seventh and ninth innings to make the score 13-4, Salk hit a bases-loaded double to extend the Cavaliers' lead to 12 points. Louisville hit another home run in the bottom of the ninth to make the score 16-7, but it was too late. Virginia had won the game and the series.
This series was emblematic of this year's Virginia baseball, a buzzsaw batting lineup with no easy outs. Louisville was forced to use many pitchers each game, and few pitchers were able to tame the Cavaliers for more than an inning or two. However, it also highlighted how weak Virginia's pitching ability was. Outside of Blanco and Woolfolk, the Cavaliers are incredibly lacking in arm talent. If they don't improve in the future, this will continue to hurt them in big games.
Virginia has two midweek games (Tuesday against Old Dominion at 6 p.m. and Wednesday at home against George Mason at 6 p.m.) before continuing its ACC play this weekend. The Cavaliers will play Georgia Tech at home on Friday, with the first game starting at 6 p.m. The game can be viewed on ACCNX.
