No. 19 Virginia Blanks VMI to Improve to 8-0

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Junior Kyle Teel drove in all three runs and five Virginia pitchers combined for the 3-0 shutout win over VMI (5-4) on Tuesday at Disharoon Park. UVA is 8-0 to start the season for the second-straight season and seventh time under head coach Brian O’Connor.

Starting pitcher Connelly Early tossed five innings of three-hit baseball to earn his second win in as many starts. The lefty struck out eight batters, one shy of his career-high. Teel went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI. He improved his batting average to .481 on the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Virginia opened the scoring with a two-out rally in the bottom of the third inning. Consecutive two-out singles by Griff O’Ferrall and Ethan O’Donnell as well as a free pass issued to Jake Gelof loaded the bases. Teel dropped a single in front of the center fielder and plated two runs.

• Teel provided the Cavaliers with some insurance with another two-out hit, this one off the left field wall that scored Jake Gelof to cap the UVA offensive day.

• Early faced the minimum over the first three innings. He allowed a hit to the second batter of the game, Zac Morris but promptly retired him on a 1-3-6 caught stealing. He did not surrender another hit until the fourth when two of the first three runners reached base. He ended the threat by striking out the final two batters of the frame.
• Teel also did his part in the field in the fifth when he caught Grayson Fitzwater leaning off first base to end the inning which turned out to be Early’s final batter of the game.

• Alex Greene came on and got the first two outs before giving way to Angelo Tonas to finish off a scoreless sixth.
• Jake Berry was credited with the hold after he did not allow a hit in the next two innings.
• Jay Woolfolk pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning and earned his first save of his Cavalier career.

From Head Coach Brian O’Connor

“I thought that was a really hard fought win. VMI has a really good ballclub. They’re very well coached, they’re extremely aggressive on the bases and they put a lot of pressure on you.I thought we handled it really well. Connelly Early, got us off to a great start. That was the best he’s pitched in our uniform. His velocity was great. His command was great. Alex Greene and (Angelo) Tonas came in and did their job and so did (Jake) Berry and then Jay (Woolfolk) at the end. (The offense) was highlighted by Kyle Teel, he had the bases loaded, he was aggressive, went after the first pitch, got a base hit up the middle and then hit the double to give us the insurance run (in the seventh). Hey, college baseball games are hard to win, we’re never going to take any of them for granted and that’s a really good ballclub in that dugout We’ll look forward to getting back to work the next couple of days and play Rhode Island Club this weekend.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Early snapped a streak of seven-straight innings where he faced the minimum number of batters dating back to his last start against Longwood. He faced 12 batters in four innings against the Lancers and the first nine went down in order against VMI on Tuesday.
• Jake Gelof, Ethan O’Donnell, Teel, Casey Saucke and Ethan Anderson all reached base in the contest, all have reached base in each game this season.
• In his career, Teel is 9-for-14 with four home runs with the bases loaded.
• Virginia improved to 110-32 against VMI in an all-time series that began in 1889. With the 14-0 win last season, UVA has shut out VMI in consecutive meetings for the first time since the 1986 (17-0) and 1987 (8-0) matchups.
• Gelof walked three times, the second time in his career he’s walked three times in a game (5/14/21 vs. Wake Forest.
• Virginia finishes off the month of February unbeaten for the second-straight season. UVA has won its last 16 February games dating back to the 2021 season.
• Tuesday marked UVA’s 10^th consecutive win over a non-conference opponent at Disharoon Park.

UP NEXT

The Cavaliers are home this weekend to host Rhode Island in a four-game series at Disharoon Park. The series opener is slated for Friday (March 3) at 3 p.m.