Virginia Downs Penn 4-2 To Open NCAA Regional Play

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia (42-15) captured a 4-2 win over Penn (24-24) in the opening game of the NCAA Charlottesville Regional on Friday (May 30) at Disharoon Park. The Cavaliers will move on to play the winner of Mississippi State and St. John’s scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. 

Joe Savino and Chase Hungate combined for nine innings of four-hit baseball on the mound. Savino logged a season-high 5.2 innings and struck out a season-high eight batters. Hungate got the final 10 outs of the game, needing just 33 pitches to earn his first career save. 

Henry Godbout blasted a three-run homer in the bottom of the second inning which proved to be the difference in the ballgame. Godbout was 1-for-3 in the contest and hit his third homer in his last five games. 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• Virginia started the scoring in the second inning with a three-run home run from Godbout. Henry Ford and Harrison Didawick scored on the shot to left after Ford opened the frame with a single and Didawick drew a walk to put two on for Godbout.
• Penn plated both of their runs in the fourth inning, the first on an RBI double by Davis Baker and the other on a two-out RBI single from Nick Spaventa to pull the Quakers within a run.
• Savino (3-2) sat down the first nine batters he faced before two runs came across in the fourth. It marked the second-straight game he faced the minimum over the first three innings. He finished his longest outing as a Cavalier by retiring five of the final six batters.
• Virginia added an insurance run in the seventh inning, with an RBI double from Ethan Anderson that plated Griff O’Ferrall. The two-bagger for Anderson was his 20th of the season and 58th of his career.

• Hungate faced 11 batters over the final 3.1 innings and allowed only a leadoff single in the eighth inning. The save was his first of his career.

ADDITIONAL NOTES 

• The Godbout homer was his first in nine NCAA Tournament games. 
• Eric Becker walked twice in the contest and has now reached base in 27-straight games, the second longest active streak on the team (Ethan Anderson – 29).
• Virginia is 26-5 this season when scoring first in 2024.
• O’Ferrall stole two bases in the contest and now has 50 for his career. He is the first Cavalier with 50 stolen bases since Greg Miclat (2006-08), UVA’s all-time leader in stolen bases (83).
• Savino’s eight strikeouts were a season high, besting his previous high of four against FSU (5/24) in the ACC Tournament. The eight strikeouts are the most since fanning eight on May 14 against NC A&T on May 14, 2023 while pitching for Elon.
• With his two hits on the afternoon, O’Ferrall now has a team-leading 28 multiple-hit games this season. 
• Friday’s contest was the 36th all-time meeting between Penn and Virginia and first since April 1, 1958, a 7-5 Cavalier victory. 

 UP NEXT 

Virginia will face either Mississippi State (38-21) or St. John’s (37-16-1) in a winner’s bracket game at 6 p.m. on Saturday (June 1).