No. 11 Virginia Comes Through in the Clutch to Even Series

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 11 Virginia (33-11, 14-9 ACC) scored five of its six runs with two outs in a 6-3 win over No. 7 Virginia Tech (30-10, 13-8 ACC) in front of a record-breaking crowd of 5,919 fans on Ryan Zimmerman Day at Disharoon Park. The Cavaliers evened the three-game series against their commonwealth foe, forcing a Sunday rubber match. Due to inclement weather, Sunday’s contest will be played at 11 a.m.

Virginia never trailed and scored five runs in the fifth inning, all with two outs to open up a 6-0 advantage. Starting pitcher Brian Gursky delivered his third quality start of the season and improved to 7-0. The lefthander struck out eight batters, five in his first two innings pitched. He sat down 13-straight batters from the end of the first until sixth.

Sophomore Jake Gelof got the largest crowd in Virginia baseball history on its feet with a solo home run in the fourth to break a scoreless tie. The long ball was his 17^th of the season, the third most in a single season of any Virginia baseball player in program history and the most in the Brian O’Connor era (2004-present).

Prior to the game, the Virginia baseball program retired the number 11 in honor of UVA baseball Hall of Famer and World Series Champion Ryan Zimmerman. Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin made an official proclamation, marking April 30, 2022 Ryan Zimmerman Day in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Virginia sent nine batters to the plate in the fifth and plated five runs in an inning for the 20^th time this season. Four-straight singles from Kyle Teel, Alex Tappen, Gelof and Devin Ortiz broke the game open. Ortiz capped the big inning with a two-run single down the left field line and has now hit safely in 11-straight games.

• Virginia Tech’s Carson DeMartini led off the sixth with a single and was the first Hokie batter to reach since the first inning. Tanner Schoebel was credited with an RBI in the frame and Gavin Cross scored when Schoebel attempted to steal second base.
• Cavalier reliever Brandon Neeck pitched the final three innings and struck out four to earn his second save of the season. Neeck allowed just one hit, a solo homer in the ninth to Schoebel.

FROM HEAD COACH BRIAN O’CONNOR

“A bounce back win for us. Certainly, we knew, both teams did, that this was going be a great series. Virginia Tech’s got an excellent ball club. (Drue) Hackenberg was outstanding, the first three or four innings and fortunately Gelof was able to get the ball out of here and the next inning we were able to string a bunch of hits together, which we’ve been pretty good at this year. I know a lot has been made about how many home runs we hit in the first half but really lately, we’ve been good at putting a bunch of hits together and taking advantage of opportunities to have a big inning. We’re fortunate to do that in the middle of the game. I thought Gursky was outstanding. He gave us a high-quality start. That changeup is one of the better ones that I’ve coached. He’s just really done a terrific job all year long for us. I just thought this game was so important to bounce back and (Brandon) Neeck has been outstanding of the bullpen and just decided to go right to him in the seventh inning. There’s the example of him being built up as a starter in the beginning of the year so he’s built up enough to not necessarily be your traditional closer. You can use him for three or plus innings if you need to. I thought he was really, really good. Great bounce back win and then tomorrow should be another great ballgame.”

UP NEXT: The rubber match scheduled for Sunday (May 1) has been moved to 11 a.m. due to inclement weather in the forecast. The Cavaliers will have lefty Jake Berry (5-2) on the hill. Virginia Tech will have righthander Jordan Geber (0-1) on the mound. The contest is scheduled to air on ACCNX and can be heard on WINA (98.9 FM/1070 AM).

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Gelof collected his 66 and 67^th RBI of the season in a 2-for-4 effort at the plate. The 67 RBI put him in a tie with Kenny Towns (2015) and Joe Koshansky (2004) for the second most in a single season in program history.
• Zimmerman became the first Cavalier player to have his number retired by the program. The No. 24 is the only other number retired in honor of former coach and administrator Jim West.
• The six runs are the second fewest scored in a game that Gursky has started on the mound this season. UVA is averaging 11.8 runs per game in Gursky starts this season, outscoring opponents 118-34.

SUNDAY TICKET INFORMATION

Fans with tickets for Sunday’s game that cannot attend because of the rescheduled time can either: (a) exchange their ticket in advance for a General Admission ticket to any other regular season game by calling the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office at (800) 542-8821 during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm., or (b) bring their ticket to the gate for General Admission seating at any remaining regular season home game, subject to seat availability at the time of arrival.

SMITHFIELD COMMONWEALTH CLASH

• The Smithfield Commonwealth Clash, originally called the Commonwealth Challenge (2005-2007), has been a part of the UVA-Virginia Tech rivalry since 2014. It is an all-sports points-based program with the Commonwealth Clash trophy presented to the winning school each year for its dominance in head-to-head competitions.
• The winner of this weekend’s series will earn one point for its respective school. Virginia Tech currently leads the Clash 10.5 to 7.5. The final two points are up for grabs at the men’s and women’s ACC Track Championships.