No. 10 Virginia Drops Series Finale to Georgia Tech

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.  – Georgia Tech (24-14, 9-9 ACC) erased a pair of early deficits in a 17-12 series-clinching victory over No. 10 Virginia (30-11, 12-9 ACC) on Sunday (April 21) at Disharoon Park. The Cavaliers had their streak of six-straight series wins at home against the Yellow Jackets snapped.

The Cavaliers led 5-2 after two innings and then 6-5 at the end of three frames but the Yellow Jackets scored 10 runs between the fourth through sixth innings that proved to be insurmountable for the Cavaliers despite scoring a run in eight of their nine turns at the plate.

Junior Griff O’Ferrall went 5-for-5 with two doubles, a home run and matched a single-game program record with five runs scored. The home run was his fifth of the season and he is the fourth Cavalier this season to put forth a five-hit effort.

The 29 combined runs in the contest were the second most in a game in the all-time series between Virginia and Georgia Tech that spans 148 games and dates back to 1924.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Virginia had the lead three batters into the bottom of the first inning when Casey Saucke singled home O’Ferrall for the first run of the game. Harrison Didawick delivered a two-out, two-run single to right to give UVA a 3-0 advantage after one inning.

• Georgia Tech responded with two unearned runs in its half of the second inning, the first of five-straight frames of crooked numbers.
• The Cavaliers pushed their initial lead to 5-3 in the bottom of the second thanks to a sacrifice fly by Bobby Whalen and an RBI groundout from Saucke.
• The Yellow Jackets tied the game at five in the third inning with five hits (four singles and a double).
• Ference gave UVA its final lead of the contest with a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the third. It was his 12th homer of the season and second in as many days. He went 4-for-13 in the series and is now hitting a team-best .402 on the year.

• A six-run sixth inning by Georgia Tech proved to the difference in the contest. It marked the third time in the series that the Yellow Jackets posted five or more runs in a single inning.
• The Cavaliers scored in eight of its nine turns at the plate and left the bases loaded in the seventh and eighth innings.
• O’Ferrall led off the ninth with his fourth home run of the season but was the only hit of the inning. Georgia Tech’s Mason Patel allowed one run and two hits in the final 2.2 innings of work.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Ethan Anderson recorded his 53rd double of his career, tying him with Brandon Guyer (2005-07) for the fourth-most in program history. He finished the day 3-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored.
• Saucke drove in four runs, matching a career high. He plated O’Ferrall three times in the contest. It marked the second-straight weekend Saucke has driven in four runs.
• O’Ferrall is the 13th player in program history with five runs scored in the game. Teammate Luke Hanson was the last Cavalier to score five runs in a game (Hofstra – 2/17/24).
• O’Ferrall passed Bobby Rivell (1987-90) for the 10th-most career hits in program history. O’Ferrall sits at 243 hits in three seasons with the Cavaliers, two behind current undergraduate assistant and UVA Hall of Famer John Hicks (2009-11) for ninth all-time.
• The record for most combined runs between Virginia and Georgia Tech is 31 runs and has occurred twice a 18-13 GT victory on April 22, 1995 and a 27-4 Yellow Jacket win on March 7, 1998.
• The series win for Georgia Tech was the first at Disharoon Park since 2008 and only the second ever under head coach Brian O’Connor (2004-present).

UP NEXT

The Cavaliers will wrap up a five-game homestand on Tuesday (April 23) when they host Liberty at Disharoon Park. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.