Nine-Run First Inning Powers No. 7 Virginia Past Mountaineers

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 7 Virginia (30-4) was down 3-0 in the top of the first but responded with nine runs in the bottom half of the inning in an eventual 16-4 victory over Mount St. Mary’s (15-16) on Wednesday at Disharoon Park. The Cavaliers improved the nation’s longest winning home winning streak to 23 games and are college baseball’s first team to 30 wins.

It marked the fourth time this season UVA has scored nine or more runs in an inning and it was the most first-inning runs by UVA since plating nine against William & Mary on March 1, 2016. Virginia needed only 11 hits to score 16 runs, the 12th time in the last 13 games UVA has racked up double-digit base knocks. Sophomore Griff O’Ferrall went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, two RBI and two stolen bases in the contest. Jake Gelof hit his fifth home run in the last five games, a two-run shot in the third inning.

Seven Cavalier pitchers limited the Mountaineers to four hits and the Virginia staff did not allow an earned run in the contest. The Cavaliers have not allowed an earned run in their last 18 innings pitched. Chase Hungate was credited with his third win, pitching 2.1 innings of one-hit baseball.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Cavaliers sent 13 batters to the plate in the bottom of the first and capitalized on three walks, a hit by pitch and two Mount St. Mary’s fielding errors in the frame. Casey Saucke broke through with UVA’s first hit, a two-run double to put UVA in front 4-3. The next batter, Henry Godbout, doubled to left center to plate two more runs.

• O’Ferrall drove in his first run of the contest with an RBI single before UVA plated a pair of unearned runs to make the score 9-3.
• Gelof, fresh off breaking UVA’s all-time home record in Tuesday’s contest, went deep for the fifth time in five games. He hit an 0-2 pitch off the batter’s eye in center field, his team-leading 14th home run of the season. The 39th home run of Gelof’s career gave UVA a 12-3 advantage after three innings.

• Chris Baker recorded a pinch-hit RBI double in the sixth to score Travis Reifsnider.
• The Cavaliers tacked on its final two runs in the eighth on an RBI groundout by Tommy Courtney and an RBI single up the middle by Justin Rubin. Courtney has recorded in RBI in back-to-back games.
• After the first inning, the Cavalier pitching staff did not face more than four batters in each of the final nine innings. Jacob Hodorovich, Bradley Hodges, Avery Mabe and Matthew Buchanan faced the minimum in the final four frames. Mabe struck out the side in the top of the eighth in his season debut.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Virginia extended its win streak against non-conference opponents in regular season action to 23 games.
• The Cavaliers have won all 22 games at Disharoon Park this season and 23-straight dating back to last season, adding to their program record.
• O’Ferrall and Kyle Teel both extended their reached base streaks. Teel has now reached safely in all 34 games while O’Ferrall has gotten aboard in the last 25 while hitting safely in the last 11.
• Wednesday marked the third ever meeting between Mount St. Mary’s and Virginia and the first since 2008. The Cavaliers have won all three contests by a combined score of 33-8.

UP NEXT

The Cavaliers return to ACC action this weekend when they host a three-game series against Pitt. Both the series opener on Friday and Saturday’s middle game are scheduled for a 6 p.m. starts. The series concludes on Sunday at 1 p.m.