No. 16 Virginia Tops George Washington in Midweek Action

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 16 Virginia (5-3) scored in all but two turns at the plate in an 11-1 victory over George Washington (0-1) on Tuesday (March 2) at Disharoon Park. The Cavaliers racked up 11 hits and won their 18^th-straight midweek contest dating back to 2019.

Three Cavalier hitters put forth multi-hit efforts in the team’s second double-digit scoring performance of the season. Sophomore Max Cotier (New Milford, Conn.) led the way, going 2-for-5 at the plate with two runs scored and two RBI. Senior Brendan Rivoli (Douglassville, Pa.) had a double and a triple in a 2-for-5 day at the plate and Nic Kent (Charlottesville, Va.) collected his fifth two-hit game of year after going 2-for-5 with two runs scored from the leadoff spot.

On the mound, starter Nate Savino (Sterling, Va.) sat down the first 10 batters he faced and pitched into the fifth inning in his second start of the year. The lefty struck out four batters and did not allow an earned run or issue a walk in 4.2 innings pitched.

“I thought, collectively, a number of guys did some good things offensively,” head coach Brian O’Connor said. “I told the team after the game that we did not, from an offensive standpoint in North Carolina, do a very good job of getting the leadoff batter on. I think I can count them on count them on one hand the amount of times we did in the 27 innings (at North Carolina). Tonight, we had five out of the eight innings (with the leadoff man on) and certainly that makes a difference in your offensive production. It allows you to do some different things, some things to create chances and increase your chances of scoring so I thought, we did a good job in that area.”

The Cavaliers plated a pair of unearned runs in the first inning and never looked back. The game broke open in the seventh with a four-run rally in which Virginia sent all nine batters got to the plate. The final run of the frame came off the bat of freshman Kyle Teel (Mahwah, N.J.) who came on as a pinch-hitter in the sixth. The RBI single up the middle was his first collegiate hit and scored Zack Gelof (Rehoboth Beach, Del.) to make the score 10-1.

Virginia used a total of seven pitchers, none of which gave up an earned run. Sophomore Matt Wyatt (Towson, Md.) relieved Savino in the fifth and recorded the next three outs to pick up his first win of the season. Junior Blake Bales (Schoolcraft, Mich.) made his team-best, fifth appearance and retired all three batters he faced, two by strikeout.

The Cavaliers will hit the road this weekend and travel to Tallahassee to take on Florida State. The series will begin Friday (March 5) with the opener at 6 p.m. All three games will be broadcast live on ACCNX.

Additional Notes

• The Cavaliers have won 11-straight against the Colonials and 16 of the 17 meetings in the Brian O’Connor era.
• Brandon Neeck (Chappaqua, N.Y.) made his season debut, taking over in the eighth inning. He struck out two of the four batters he faced.
• Marc Lebreux (Montreal, Candada) walked in sixth inning, extending his reached base streak to 23 games.
• Zack Gelof went 1-for-3 with two RBI and along with Lebreux, has reached safely in all eight games in 2021.