Late Inning Power Surge Lifts No. 2 Virginia Over Minnesota

ROUND ROCK, TEXAS – On the second day of the Karbach Round Rock Classic, the No. 2 Virginia Baseball team (3-2) topped the Minnesota Golden Gophers (1-4) by a score of 4-2 on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 22) at Dell Diamond.

The Cavaliers picked up their first come-from-behind victory of the season behind late-inning home runs from Adian Teel and Trey Wells.

On the mound, the Virginia pitching staff tallied 12 strikeouts on the afternoon for its fourth double-digit performance of the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Virginia starter Bryson Moore retired eight of the first 10 Golden Gophers he faced. He matched his career-high with six strikeouts over five innings of one earned rule ball.
• Minnesota broke the seal on the scoreless game when Jack Spanier brought a pair of runs in with a two-out two-run RBI single in the top of the fourth.
• In the home half of the frame, Henry Ford tucked a double down the line in left to give the Cavaliers a two-out base runner. One batter later, Teel floated a single to left center that landed just out of the reach of Minnesota’s diving left fielder to score Ford and cut the Golden Gophers advantage in half at 2-1.
• Ford and Teel teamed up again in the sixth inning to give Virginia the lead for good. The rally started when Ford singled down the left field line before Teel turned on a 3-1 pitch that the junior deposited beyond the wall in right field. The long ball was his first home run of the season and it gave UVA a 3-2 advantage.

• In his Virginia debut, Wells added some insurance in the bottom of the seventh when the catcher sent his first home run of the year deep into the damp Texas afternoon to push the UVA lead to 4-2.

• After relieving Moore, Matt Lanzendorfer tossed two shutout innings to pick up the win on Saturday. In the heart of his outing, Lanzendorfer fanned four-straight Gophers before ending his outing with five total.
• Ryan Osinski was credited with his first save as a Cavalier and first since 2023 while at Bucknell after securing the victory for Virginia with two shutout innings.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Saturday’s contest between the Cavaliers and the Golden Gophers was the first meeting between the two squads in program history.
• All eight of Virginia’s hits on Saturday came from the quartet of Teel, Wells, Ford and Henry Godbout as each Cavalier had two hits each.
• Teel’s three RBI performance matched his career-high against Louisville on April 13, 2024.
• Lanzendorfer’s five strikeouts tied his career high and matched Osinski’s five Ks against Michigan for most by a Virginia reliever this season.
• Wells joins Chris Arroyo as the only two Cavaliers to hit a home run in their Virginia debut this season.
• Eric Becker’s reached safely streak of 34 games ended on Saturday with an 0-for-4 day.

 UP NEXT

The Cavaliers will wrap up play at the Karbach Round Rock Classic on Sunday at 5 p.m. ET against Oklahoma. Lefty Tomas Valincius is scheduled to take the mound for Virginia against the Sooners’ lefthander Cam Johnson.