No. 17 Virginia Takes Down W&M to Improve to 12-0

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 17 Virginia (12-0) finished off a nine-game homestand with a 7-3 win over William & Mary (7-6) on Tuesday (March 7) at Disharoon Park. The Cavaliers are 12-0 for the second-straight season and the fourth time under head coach Brian O’Connor.

Starting pitcher Connelly Early improved to 3-0 and recorded his second quality start in as many weeks. The lefthander struck out six batters and allowed two earned runs in six innings of work. Five of the nine Cavaliers in the lineup put forth multi-hit games including Harrison Didawick went 2-for-4 with a double, a triple and an RBI.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Virginia fell behind 1-0 in the top of the first inning thanks to a Joe Delossantos two-out, solo homer to right field.
• The Cavaliers responded quickly and regained the lead just four batters into their turn at the plate in the bottom half of the inning. Jake Gelof tied it up with an RBI double that scored Ethan O’Donnell from first base. The RBI was Gelof’s team-leading, 21^st of the season.

• UVA took the lead for good when the next batter, Kyle Teel doubled home Gelof to make the score 2-1. Teel finished the day 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and an RBI. He is now batting .568 going into ACC play this weekend.

• Teel came around to score on a Casey Saucke RBI ground out, capping a three-run, first inning rally for UVA.
• Didawick collected his 13^th RBI of the season with an RBI double in the sixth that scored Ethan Anderson. The Cavaliers tacked on two unearned runs in the frame, capitalizing on a William & Mary fielding error.
• Freshman Kevin Jaxel took over for Early in the sixth and worked around a Tribe hit while fanning two in a scoreless seventh. Jake Berry didn’t allow a run over his two innings of work before handing the ball to Jay Woolfolk who surrendered an unearned run in the ninth.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Teel is 10-for-13 with three doubles, seven runs scored and five RBI in his last three games.
• Berry has now 10.2 innings of scoreless relief on the season. He’s allowed seven batters to reach base (four walks, three hits).
• In his first collegiate start, Luke Hanson went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI.
• Virginia has scored 24 runs in the first inning this season, the most of any other frame.
• Virginia has won 17 of the last 19 meetings against William & Mary, including each of the last four. UVA is 80-31-2 all-time against the Tribe.
• UVA has been 12-0 to start the season four times (2009, 2013, 2022 and 2023).

UP NEXT

The Cavaliers will begin ACC play this weekend when they travel to Chapel Hill for a three-game series against No. 14 North Carolina. Friday’s series opener is scheduled for 6 p.m.