No. 9 Virginia Levels Series in Durham

DURHAM, N.C. – No. 9 Virginia (22-5, 7-4 ACC) evened its three-game road series with No. 11 Duke (19-8, 5-6 ACC) with a 7-3 victory on Friday (March 29) at Jack Coombs Field. Cavalier reliever Chase Hungate pitched 4.1 innings of scoreless relief and earned his second win of the season.

Virginia raced out to a 7-1 advantage after four innings and never looked back. Leadoff man Griff O’Ferrall drove in three runs in a 2-for-5 effort at the plate and coupled it with a dazzling defensive performance at shortstop, making a sliding backhanded flip on a ball hit up the middle to rob a base knock in the fifth inning.

After starting pitcher Evan Blanco ran into trouble in the bottom of the fifth, Hungate took over with two outs and the bases loaded. He got the final out of the frame and allowed just two hits over the final 4.1 innings. It was his longest outing of the season and second-longest as a Cavalier. Hungate improved to 2-0 on the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After just five hits in the series opener on Thursday, UVA matched that total in the four-run second inning rally to take an initial 4-0 advantage. Jacob Ference kicked off the scoring with an RBI single to left center that scored Henry Ford. An RBI groundout by Anderson made it 2-0 and UVA received two-out, runs scoring hits from Eric Becker (double) and O’Ferrall (single) to cap the rally.

• The Cavaliers made it 5-0 in the in the fourth inning when Casey Saucke doubled, trading places with Anthony Stephan at second base. It was Saucke’s seventh double of the year.

• O’Ferrall did more two-out damage in the fourth when he dropped a double in the middle three Duke defenders in short right center field, putting UVA up 7-1.

• Blanco was one out short of being eligible for the win. He was charged with three runs over his 4.2 innings of work and scattered seven Blue Devil hits.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• The Cavaliers were outhit 8-7, the fourth time this season UVA has recorded a win despite having fewer hits than its opponent.
• Harrison Didawick went 1-for-4 in the contest and has now hit safely in 17-straight games. It’s the longest streak by a Cavalier since Casey Saucke started his collegiate career by hitting safely in his first 21 games.

UP NEXT

The rubber match is slated for 1 p.m. on Saturday (March 30) at Jack Coombs Field. The Cavaliers will have righthander Kevin Jaxel on the mound (4-0) and he will be opposed by Duke lefty Andrew Healy (2-1). The game will air live on ACCNX.