No. 7 Virginia Runs Home Win Streak to 19 Games

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 7 Virginia (26-4, 9-4 ACC) remained unbeaten at Disharoon Park with a 14-2 victory over No. 20 Miami (20-10, 8-5 ACC) on Friday (April 7). The Cavaliers are 18-0 at home in 2023 and have matched a program record with their 19th consecutive home win dating back to last season.

Virginia scored the first 13 runs of the game, including seven in its first three trips to the plate. The Cavaliers equaled their season-high with four home runs in the contest, including two off the bat of sophomore Casey Saucke.

UVA Starting pitcher Brian Edgington turned in the longest outing by a UVA pitcher this year by tossing seven innings of one-run baseball. The righthander matched a season-high with 10 strikeouts and scattered four hits to improve to 6-0 on the year. Edgington has allowed two earned runs in his last 17 innings pitched and has lowered his season ERA to 1.59.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Jake Gelof hit his team-best, 10th home run of the season and 35th of his career, moving him into a tie for second place on UVA’s all-time list. He’s two shy of matching the career program record of 37, held by E.J. Anderson (1995-98).

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Saucke kicked off his big night and the Virginia scoring in the second inning with a solo home run over the left field bleachers. The long ball traveled an estimated 427 feet with an exit velocity of 106 mph.

• Later in the second with two outs, Griff O’Ferrall was called out on ground ball up the middle that would have ended the inning if not for a replay review initiated by the UVA dugout. The call was overturned allowing Ethan O’Donnell to come to the plate with two runners on. O’Donnell drove a 3-2 fastball over the right field wall for a three-run homer and gave UVA a 4-0 advantage.

• O’Ferrall was in the thick of a two-out rally again in the third when he plated two runs on a single to left field. He finished with a team-high three hits on the night and has now racked up seven base knocks in two games this week.
• The Cavaliers blew the game open in the sixth with a six-run frame. After RBI hits from Gelof and Ethan Anderson, Saucke put the exclamation point on the day with a three-run laser over the left field wall, putting UVA up 13-0.

• Chase Hungate and Jacob Hodorovich combined to throw the final two innings for UVA on the mound. Hodorovich worked around a hit and a walk in the ninth to close out the win.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• UVA has scored 15 of its last 18 runs with two outs, including 11 two-out runs in Friday’s contest.
• The six-run, sixth inning marked the 13th time this season UVA has scored five or more runs in a single inning.
• Kyle Teel went 2-for-5 2ith a run scored and has now reached base in all 30 games this season. O’Ferrall is 7-for-11 in two games this week and extended his reached base streak to 21 games.
• Seven Cavaliers put forth multi-hit efforts on Friday and eight of the nine in players recorded a hit in the contest.
• O’Donnell’s home run in the second inning was his eighth of the season. Four of his eight home runs this season have come against ACC opponents.
• The only batter to reach base on Edgington win the first 4.2 innings was Dario Gomez who bunted a single down the third base line for Miami’s first hit. Two of the four hits Edgington surrendered did not leave the infield.
• Virginia snapped a four-game losing streak to Miami and is seeking the first series win against the Hurricanes since 2017.
• Virginia has won all five ACC series openers this season.
• The multi-home run effort by Saucke was the first of his career and the first by a Cavalier since Jake Gelof against Coastal Carolina in the 2022 NCAA Greenville Regional.

UP NEXT

Virginia and Miami will continue the series on Saturday (April 8) with a 3 p.m. first pitch at Disharoon Park. The Cavaliers will have righthander Nick Parker (3-0) on the mound and he will be opposed by righty Alejandro Rosario (2-3).