VCU Walks Off With Extra Inning Win over No. 11 Virginia

RICHMOND, Va. – Catcher Jacob Selden hit a two-run, walk-off home run in the tenth inning to give VCU (20-15) a 9-7 win over No. 11 Virginia (27-10) on Tuesday (April 19) at The Diamond. The extra-inning blast spoiled a valiant comeback effort by the Cavaliers who erased a five-run deficit to tie the game in the seventh.

With one out and a runner on first, Selden took a 3-1 fastball from Jay Woolfolk over the wall in right field. The Rams have won three-straight games over the Cavaliers dating back to last season. The two teams will meet again on May 3 in Charlottesville.

Junior Jacob Hodorovich was credited with the tough luck loss after a career night on the mound. The righthander totaled a career-high four innings and faced the minimum until he walked the second batter of the 10^th inning. Hodorovich also fanned a career-best, five batters in his 11^th appearance of the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After the first eight VCU batters of the game went hitless, the next five came around score in a five-run third inning. Four of the five runs came in on a grand slam by Connor Hujsak to left field. The grand slam was the first hit against UVA this season and the first since May 10, 2019.
• Nine-hole hitter Scottie O’Bryan made the score 6-2 in the fourth with a solo homer to the opposite field. The long ball was his second of the season. Selden pushed the lead to 7-2 in the fifth on a two-out single to left field.
• Freshman Ethan Anderson, who came on as a pinch-hitter in the fourth, ignited a five-run, game-tying inning in the seventh with a leadoff double, his second hit of the day. Classmates Justin Rubin and Griff O’Ferrall followed suit with doubles of their own to quickly make it a three-run game.

• O’Ferrall, the Richmond native, came around to score on an RBI ground out by Kyle Teel to make it 7-5 in favor of VCU.
• With two outs, Alex Tappen beat out an infield single to keep the rally alive. The next batter, Devin Ortiz, tied the game with one swing. A 403-foot blast over the left field erased the five-run deficit, his fourth home run of the season.

• Virginia had the go-ahead run on third base with two outs in the 10^th but O’Ferall’s sharp line drive to left was caught to end the threat.

FROM HEAD COACH BRIAN O’CONNOR

“It was a great college baseball game and a really enthusiastic crowd tonight. I’m proud of our guys on how we battled back. They had the big five-run inning in the third and jumped out to a big lead and we responded in the seventh inning with five runs of our own. You have got to be a little bit better on the road and they certainly stepped up and got the big knocks there to win the game.”

UP NEXT: The Cavaliers will return home on Wednesday (April 20) to host Georgetown in the first meeting between the two schools since 2015. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Disharoon Park and the contest is slated to air on ACCNX.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Anderson reached base in all three at bats and went 2-for-3 with walk, RBI and a run scored.
• Virginia’s five-run seventh inning was the 20^th time this season that it has scored five or more runs in an inning. It marks the first time this season that the Cavaliers have lost when posting a 5+ run inning.
• The home run was Ortiz’s first since March 18 against Boston College.
• VCU’s five-run inning was the fourth time a UVA opponent has plated five runs in an inning and the first by a non-ACC foe in 2022.
• Chris Newell swiped his 14^th bag of the season and was 2-for-4 with a run scored in the contest. He has been successful on 35 of his 38 stolen base attempts in his career.