Cavaliers Split Doubleheader with Pitt; Rubber Match Set for Sunday

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia baseball team (19-14, 8-9 ACC) split a pair of games on Saturday (April 12) to Pitt (18-15, 5-9) with a walk-off 7-5 victory in game one before falling 8-7 in the nightcap.

In the series opener, UVA collected its 11th come-from-behind victory of the season when Henry Ford hit a two-run blast in the bottom of the ninth to capture a 7-5 victory.

The late-inning dramatics continued in game two as Virginia scored five runs over the final two innings in a rally that fell short on a fly ball to the warning track in left field.

HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME 1

• UVA starting pitcher Jay Woolfolk allowed three runs over 6.1 innings pitched with five strikeouts but did not factor into the decision.
• To open the Saturday doubleheader, Pitt’s Ryan Reed and Woolfolk did not surrender a hit during the first three innings.
• Pitt got on the board first with a two-run home run off the bat of AJ Nessler in the top of the fourth.
• Virginia answered immediately in the bottom of the frame with a five-run inning highlighted by a two-run double from Chris Arroyo and a Luke Hanson two-run single with the bases loaded that made it 5-2 Cavaliers.

• The Panthers cut the Cavalier lead to 5-4 in the seventh on an RBI single to left before scoring on a Virginia throwing error.
• Following a scoreless eighth, Pitt had a baserunner reach on a two-out Virginia error before the Panther came home to score, tying the game at 5-5.
• In the bottom of the ninth, Eric Becker extended the frame with a two-out single to right that brought Ford to the plate. On a 2-0 pitch, Ford lifted a ball down the line in right just deep enough to go over the wall for a two-run walk-off home run and a 7-5 Virginia victory. The walk-off was Henry’s fifth dinger of the season and third in three days.

HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME 2

• Pitt jumped out to a 2-0 advantage in the second inning on a two-run home run from the Panthers’ Jayden Melendez.
• The first UVA run of the game came an inning later when Chone James scampered home on a Hanson base knock to left field.
• In the fourth, the visiting Panthers extended their advantage to 6-1 by plating four runs in the frame on a pair of two-run doubles and a bases-loaded ground out.
• The two ACC foes traded runs in the sixth to give Pitt a 7-2 lead with six innings in the books.
• Pitt added another run in the top of the seventh on a Cavalier balk that scored a Panther from third.
• Virginia experienced a power surge over the final two innings as Aidan Teel smacked a two-run home run in the eighth before a Ford sacrifice fly scored Becker to bring the Cavaliers to within three runs at 8-5.

• In the top of the ninth, Alex Markus struck out three straight Panthers with the bases loaded to give Virginia a chance in the home half of the inning.

• The bottom of the ninth opened with a Henry Godbout double down the line in right to set up a Harrison Didawick two-out two-run home run that made it an 8-7 contest.

• After a Pitt pitching change, the game ended on a flyball to deep left field to seal the doubleheader split and an 8-7 Pitt win.

 ADDITIONAL NOTES

• On the year, Virginia is 9-3 when Aidan Teel bats leadoff for the Cavaliers.
• The game one victory was UVA’s 12th come-from-behind win of the season.
• Virginia’s five-run fourth in the series opener was the 10th time this season that the Cavaliers have scored five or more runs in an inning.
• Henry Ford extended this hit streak and on-base streaks to 12 and 17 games, respectively, on Saturday.
• In his five home starts this season, Jay Woolfolk has struck out 34 opposing batters in 28.1 innings pitched.
• Ford’s walk-off home run in game one was Virginia’s third walk-off win of the season and the first via the long ball.
• The walk-off homer was Virginia’s first since Didawick’s two-run blast against Virginia Tech on May 18, 2024.
• Didawick’s homer in game two was his second of the season and first since Feb. 28 against Dartmouth.

 UP NEXT

The rubber match against Pitt is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday at Disharoon Park. Virginia will have lefty Tomas Valincius (2-1) on the bump against Pitt’s righthander Drew Lafferty (1-1) in a contest that will be carried on ACCNX and WINA (98.9 FM/1070 AM).

 SUNDAY PARKING

Due to a concert at John Paul Jones Arena being rescheduled, all JPJ lots will be open with no vacate time.