By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com
On a hot, humid Saturday afternoon, the Virginia Cavaliers won the first of what they hope will be four straight elimination games at the NCAA baseball regional in Columbia, S.C.
The next one comes Sunday at noon, when third-seeded UVA (30-24) meets second-seeded South Carolina (34-22) at Founders Park. (Top-seeded Old Dominion edged USC 2-1 in the winners’ bracket late Saturday night.)
About 21 hours after falling 4-3 to the host Gamecocks in the regional’s opening game, the Cavaliers were back on the field Saturday to face fourth-seeded Jacksonville, a 4-3 loser to ODU in the second game Friday.
The game did not unfold as scripted for the Wahoos—starting pitcher Mike Vasil gave up five runs and didn’t make it out of the third inning––but they pounded Jacksonville pitchers and rallied for a 13-8 victory.
“Our backs were against the wall,” freshman Kyle Teel said, “and we all knew that we needed to win this game to move on. That’s how it is from here on out, so we’re just going to keep fighting like we always do and play the best baseball that we can.”
Virginia totaled a season-high 21 hits, also a program record for an NCAA tournament game. “I just think it’s kind of a snowball effect,” freshman Jake Gelof said.
Six UVA had at least two hits apiece: Zack Gelof (4-for-5), Teel (4-for-6), Jake Gelof (3-for-4), Max Cotier (3-for-4), Logan Michaels (2-for-4) and Devin Ortiz (2-for-5). Chris Newell and Jake Gelof each homered for UVA.
“Just proud of how we responded offensively and the number of guys that had big days,” Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor said. “This is what you have to do when you fall into the losers’ bracket. Sometimes you gotta outslug somebody, and we certainly did that today.”
Zack Gelof, a junior who’s a three-year starter at third base, is 7-for-10 in this regional. His kid brother is 4-for-7 in Columbia. Jake Gelof took over at first base after Ortiz suffered an injury that limited him to designated-hitter duty, and he’s been a key part of the Cavaliers’ late-season surge.
The younger Gelof blasted his first home run against Notre Dame in the ACC tournament. He hit No. 2 in the loss to South Carolina and No. 3 against Jacksonville, a two-run shot in the sixth inning.
“He’s made huge, significant contributions for us,” O’Connor said.
Losing Ortiz in the field was a blow, but the decision to put Jake Gelof in that spot is “paying off for us now, for his team,” O’Connor said. “He’s doing a terrific job defensively at first base. And he’s starting to drive the ball out of the ball park. We see it in BP. He takes the most impressive BP we have on our team, and he’s starting to get more quality, consistent passes the more and more he plays. He’s really, really emerged for us with the bat, and we wouldn’t be where we’re at without him.”
Had everything gone as planned Saturday, the Cavaliers would have been able to start sophomore left-hander Nate Savino on Sunday afternoon. But Vasil struggled after a strong first inning, and the first relief pitcher UVA used against the Dolphins (16-34), Kyle Whitten, had some issues, too. And so O’Connor handed the ball to Savino with one out in the top of the fifth and runners on second and third.
“I just felt like it was an important part in the ball game,” O’Connor said. “We needed to stop momentum for them. And they did take a two-run lead, but I knew Savino would settle in and do a terrific job for us, and it worked out that we didn’t have to use anybody else.”
Savino pitched the final 4.2 innings and allowed only two hits and one run.
“You can’t worry about Monday until you get to Monday,” O’Connor said. “You can’t worry about the second game tomorrow until you get to that point, and we needed to win today.”