Woolfolk, Late-Inning Surge Propels Virginia To Victory In Series Opener

BLACKSBURG, Va. – To open the final weekend of the regular season, the Virginia baseball team (31-16, 15-10 ACC) downed Virginia Tech (29-23, 11-17 ACC) 12-2 on Thursday night (May 15) at English Field.

UVA starter Jay Woolfolk continued his late-season heroics on Thursday by tossing eight innings of two-run ball with six strikeouts. Woolfolk’s eight-inning start tied the longest of his career and was the longest outing by a Cavalier pitcher this season.

Harrison Didawick led the way offensively for Virginia, going 4-for-5 on Thursday with a pair of RBIs. Chris Arroyo and Jacob Ference homered in the later stages as UVA outscored Virginia 9-0 over the final two innings.

HOW IT HAPPENED  

• Aidan Teel opened the game with a perfectly placed double down the left field line. The Virginia leadoff man scored two batters later on a Henry Ford RBI single that put the Hoos up 1-0 after one.

• After being handed the lead, Woolfolk retired the first 10 Hokies he faced before turning a double play on an attempted Virginia Tech bunt to close out the fourth inning.

• Woolfolk’s dominance continued as the right-hander struck out the side in the fifth to keep the series opener a one-run game.
• Didawick extended the UVA lead to 2-0 in the top of the sixth with an RBI single to right that plated Arroyo.
• An inning later, Luke Hanson worked a leadoff walk and later scored on an Eric Becker double that pushed the Virginia advantage to 3-0 heading into the seventh inning stretch.
• Virginia Tech’s only two runs of the night came in the bottom seventh on a two-run home run off the bat of Sam Tackett that cut the score down to 3-2.
• The Cavaliers answered immediately with a five-run top of the eighth that started with an Arroyo leadoff solo home run to open the frame and crescendoed with a two-run Becker single that made it an 8-2 contest.

• To close out his longest outing of the season, Woolfolk induced a double play and struck out his sixth Hokie of the night for a scoreless home half of the eighth.
• Virginia added four more runs in the top of the ninth on a two-run Ference home run and a James Nunnallee RBI double.

• In relief, Wes Arrington sealed the 12-2 Virginia victory with a scoreless ninth.  

 ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Virginia improves to 21-5 when Aidan Teel bats leadoff.
• Dating back to the April 6 contest at NC State, the Cavaliers have hit at least one home run in 18 straight games.
• UVA improves to 29-4 on the season when scoring six or more runs.
• Virginia’s five-run eighth was the 18th time this season that UVA has plated five or more runs in an inning.
• James Nunnallee extended his reached safely streak to 14 games on Thursday with a single in the eighth inning.

 UP NEXT

Virginia will look to take the series on Thursday (May 16) in the second game of the three-game series. The Cavaliers will start lefthander Bradley Hodges (2-1) against Virginia Tech’s lefty Jake Marciano (4-2). Thursday’s contest is slated for a 3 p.m. first pitch on ACCNX and WINA (98.9/1070 AM).