No. 13 Virginia Drops Series Opener to No. 20 Duke

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 20 Duke (30-12, 13-8 ACC) took game one of a three-game ACC series, 17-5 over No. 13 Virginia (34-10, 12-10 ACC) on Friday (April 28) at Disharoon Park. The Blue Devils won their eighth-straight game, the longest active win streak in the ACC.

Duke scored 12 of its 17 runs over the final three turns at the plate. The 17 runs and 21 hits were the most by a UVA opponent this season.

UVA sophomore Ethan Anderson went 3-for-5 with a home run, two runs scored and an RBI in the contest. His long ball in the second inning was his seventh of the season. Classmate Justin Rubin also left the yard, with a pinch-hit homer in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Cavalier starting pitcher Brian Edgington was charged with the loss after he allowed six runs over six innings of work. The righthander fanned nine batters, one shy of matching his season high. Edgington has logged five or more innings in all but two of his 11 starts this season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Duke never trailed in the contest, and it started with a first-inning, two-run home run by MJ Metz. The two-run blast to right center was his 11th of the season.
• The Cavaliers responded with Anderson’s solo homer in the bottom of the second inning which cut the Duke lead in half, 2-1.

• The Blue Devils scored the next eight runs, including five in the top of the seventh to open up a 10-1 advantage.
• UVA plated four runs in its final three turns at the plate. Ethan O’Donnell drove in UVA’s second run of the night with a two-out RBI single in the seventh. O’Donnell was one of three Cavalier multi-hit performers and finished 2-for-4 with an RBI.
• Casey Saucke collected his fifth and sixth RBI in his last four games with a two-run single in the eighth before Rubin’s pinch-hit homer in the ninth gave UVA five runs on the night.
• A combination of five Duke pitchers limited the Cavalier offense to eight hits, including just three over the first six innings.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Rubin’s pinch-hit home run was the first by a Cavaliers since Alex Tappen went deep in pinch-hit fashion against Wake Forest on May 15, 2021.
• Duke’s single inning outputs of five (7th inning) and six (9th inning) were the most by an opponent this season.
• The game was delayed by an hour due to inclement weather with first pitch occurring at 9:02 p.m. The game concluded at 12:23 a.m. on Saturday morning.

UP NEXT

The series continues on Saturday (April 29) with game two of the three-game set against the Blue Devils. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Disharoon Park. The Cavaliers will have righthander Nick Parker (3-0) on the mound and he will be opposed by Duke righty Ryan Higgins.