No. 9 Virginia Wipes Early Deficit to Win Sixth Straight

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 9 Virginia (21-4) scored 11 unanswered runs in a 15-5 win over Richmond (9-15) on Tuesday (March 26) at Disharoon Park. The Cavaliers overcame an early four-run deficit and recorded their 14th come-from-behind win of the season.

A grand slam by Richmond’s Jake Topolski put Virginia in an early 4-0 hole but the Cavaliers responded by scoring 15 of the game’s next 16 runs to extend their win streak to six games. UVA collected 17 hits in the contest, the sixth consecutive double-digit hit performance. Junior Ethan Anderson went 3-for-4 with a home run, four RBI and three runs scored. Harrison Didawick hit his team-leading 12th home run of the season and drove in four runs.

Five Virginia relievers held Richmond to one run over the final eight innings to help preserve the victory. Freshman Matt Augustin faced the minimum over three scoreless frames and struck out a batter.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Anderson was responsible for three of the Cavaliers first four runs in the contest and was pivotal in erasing UVA initial four-run deficit. He hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the second inning to pull the Cavaliers within a run. He then recorded a two-out RBI single in the third to level the game at four.

• Richmond took its second lead of the game in the fourth, with a two-out, RBI double by DJ Pacheo, making the score 5-4.
• Didawick responded in the bottom half of the fourth with a three-run homer into the right field bullpen and the Cavaliers never looked back.

• Virginia plated eight runs in its final three turns at the plate, including three-run, two-out rally in the seventh that featured run scoring hits by Anthony Stephan, Casey Saucke and Henry Ford.
• UVA posted a four-run frame in the eighth thanks to Anderson’s fourth RBI of the day, Luke Hanson’s RBI single and a sacrifice fly from Bobby Whalen.
• Aidan Teel and Ryan Osinski each pitched a scoreless inning in the eighth and ninth, respectively, to close out the Spiders.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Virginia has faced a deficit in 18 of its 25 games this season. Tuesday marked the 14th comeback win of the season and fourth come-from-behind victory when trailing by four or more runs.
• The grand slam by Richmond was the third by a UVA opponent this season. UVA has won two of three contests in which an opponent has hit a grand slam.
• Virginia improved to 13-2 at home and has won 50 of the last 57 games at Disharoon Park.
• Virginia has won 20 of the last 21 meetings against Richmond including each of the last six. UVA is 91-59-2 all-time against Richmond and 19-1 under Brian O’Connor.
• Anderson is the only Cavalier to reach in all 25 games this season and has a 14-game hit streak.
• Didawick has homered in consecutive games for the third time this season and extended his hit streak to 15 games.
• It marks the 12th time in 21 seasons with O’Connor at the helm that UVA has 20 or more wins through its first 25 games.

UP NEXT

Virginia will be on the road for the second-straight weekend when it begins a three-game series against No. 11 Duke at Jack Coombs Field in Durham, N.C. First pitch for the series opener is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Thursday (March 28).