Clutch Cavaliers Improve to 2-0

WILMINGTON, N.C. – No. 19 Virginia (2-0) scored all its runs with two outs in an 8-4 win over Ohio (0-2) on Saturday (Feb. 18) at the Hughes Brothers Challenge in Wilmington, N.C. Led by starting pitcher Nick Parker who had 10 in five innings of work, Virginia pitchers struck out 15 batters in the contest.

The UVA offense picked up right where it left off yesterday by collecting 19 more hits. In the first two games of the season, the Cavaliers have compiled 32 runs on 39 hits.

Junior Jake Gelof put the Cavaliers ahead for good, breaking a 3-3 tie in the top of the fourth inning with a two-run, opposite field home run. The long ball was his first of the season and 26^th of his career, moving him into a tie for 10^th place on UVA’s all-time home run list.

Griff O’Ferrall matched his career high with four hits, in a 4-for-6, two RBI effort at the plate. Kyle Teel, Ethan Anderson and Henry Godbout each had three hits to lead the Cavaliers offensive attack.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Virginia sent eight batters to the plate in the first inning, racked up five hits and plated three runs. The Cavaliers received two-out RBI singles from Casey Saucke, Anderson and Colin Tuft in the inning.
• Three consecutive hits with one out led to the first Ohio run of the game in the bottom half of the first inning. The Bobcats tied the game up in the third on AJ Rausch’s first homer of the spring that scored Alex Finney who led the inning off with a hit by pitch.
• The short-lived stalemate was broken up in the top of the fourth by Gelof who blasted a 0-1 pitch over the right-centerfield wall.
• UVA posted another three-spot in the seventh inning thanks to a two-out RBI single by Henry Godbout that was followed up by a two-run double from O’Ferrall.
• First year lefthanders Bradley Hodges and Evan Blanco combined for three innings of scoreless relief. Hodges took over for Parker in the sixth and fanned a pair of batters over two innings of work. Blanco struck out three of the four batters he faced in the eighth inning.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• It marked the second-straight outing Parker has recorded 10 strikeouts. He fanned 10 to establish a career-high in an eight-inning masterpiece against East Carolina in the 2022 NCAA Greenville Regional.
• Saturday was Parker’s 41^st career start and 50^th collegiate pitching appearance.
• Saucke extended his hitting streak, that dates back to last season, to nine games. The sophomore went 2-for-5 with an RBI in the contest.
• As was the case in the season opener on Friday, eight of the nine batters in the Cavalier starting lineup had a hit.
• Gelof’s homer moved him into a tie for 10^th place with UVA Hall of Famers Jarrett Parker and Joe Koshansky as well as former teammate Alex Tappen who all hit 26 career home runs.
• Saturday was the first meeting against Ohio since 1986. Virginia improved to 4-1 all-time against the Bobcats.
• Under Brian O’Connor (2004-present), the Cavaliers are now 45-15-1 on opening weekends.

UP NEXT

The Cavaliers will play UNCW on Sunday (Feb. 19) to wrap up the 2023 Hughes Bros. Challenge in Wilmington, N.C. The Cavaliers are scheduled to start first year righthander Jack O’Connor on the mound and he will be opposed by righty Zane Taylor. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m.