No. 5 Virginia Has Seven-Game Win Streak Snapped

BLACKSBURG, Va. – No. 5 Virginia (24-3, 8-3 ACC) suffered its third loss of the season as Virginia Tech (16-10, 3-8 ACC) evened the three-game ACC series with a 12-10 victory on Saturday (April 1) at Atlantic Union Bank Park. The Hokie victory snapped UVA’s seven-game win streak, the longest in the ACC.

Virginia Tech’s early offense proved to be the difference in the game. The Hokies scored all 12 of their runs in the first five innings. A late UVA comeback effort that featured four ninth inning runs and the tying run at the plate came up short. Virginia Tech’s Jonah Hurney recorded the final three outs for his second save of the year.

Ethan O’Donnell recorded his second four-hit game of the season after a 4-for-5 effort at the plate on Saturday. In two games this weekend against Virginia Tech, O’Donnell is 6-for-9 with two doubles, a home run and four RBI. Junior Jake Gelof hit his ninth home run of the season and 34th  of his career to move into sole possession of fourth place on UVA’s all-time home run list. Gelof has homered in eight-straight ACC series dating back to last season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Virginia had the initial lead in the contest by scoring in the top of the first inning for the second-straight day. After O’Donnell doubled down the left field line, Kyle Teel came through with a two-out RBI single to right field to give UVA a 1-0 advantage.

• Virginia Tech responded with the next six runs, three in each of its first two turns at the plate. The Cavaliers closed the gap with a three-run frame in in the third. Teel hit a two-run, opposite-field home run to pull UVA back within two runs. The Cavalier backstop was 2-for-5 with three RBI in the contest.
• The Hokies scored the six of the next eight runs and held an 11-4 advantage after four innings, UVA’s largest deficit of the season.
• Gelof launched a 459-foot missile in the fifth to help UVA begin to chip away at the Hokie lead. The two-run shot made it 11-6.
• Trailing 12-6 going into the top of the ninth, the first four UVA batters recorded hits. O’Donnell started the rally with an RBI double down the left field line that scored Harrison Didawick. Gelof followed with a two-run double off the left field wall to make it 12-9.

• Virginia Tech then went to Hurney who retired three of the next for batters to secure the victory.
• The freshman duo of Bradley Hodges and Cullen McKay kept the Hokies offense in check over the final four innings. Hodges did the bulk of the work, tossing three innings and allowing only one run. McKay faced the minimum in the eighth and struck out a pair.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Teel has reached base in all 27 games this season while O’Ferrall has reached safely in 18-straight.
• UVA has scored 37 runs in the first inning this season, the most of any other frame. The Cavaliers drop to 12-2 when scoring in the first inning in 2023.
• The Cavaliers out-hit the Hokies 16-13 and suffer their first loss of the season when out-hitting an opponent. UVA was 21-0 when outhitting opponents this season going into the contest.
• The 12 Virginia Tech runs and 13 hits were the most by a UVA opponent this season.

UP NEXT

The rubber match of three-game series is slated for Sunday (April 2) at 1 p.m. The Cavaliers will have righthander Jack O’Connor (2-1) on the mound and he will be opposed by Anthony Arguelles (0-1).

SMITHFIELD COMMONWEALTH CLASH

• The rivalry between Virginia Athletics and Virginia Tech Athletics has a long and storied history dating back more than 125 years within the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Cavaliers and Hokies first faced off on the gridiron in Charlottesville in 1895. First coined the Commonwealth Clash during the 2014-2015 season, the rivalry has expanded and intensified across the 22 sports the two institutions face off in head-to-head competition.
• The winner of the three-game series will earn one point in the Clash
• Virginia currently leads this year’s clash, 7-6.