Hoos Thrilled to See Augustin Back on Mound

By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — A minor setback delayed University of Virginia junior Matt Augustin’s 2026 debut, but what’s a couple more weeks to a pitcher who had to sit out all of last season with an injury?

“You’re going to have little bumps in your road,” Augustin said, “and I was like, ‘That’s just going to be another one.’”

The key, he added, was to “bounce back. They teach us to be like a lacrosse ball and just bounce right back.”

Augustin’s perseverance didn’t surprise the UVA players who were in the program with him last season. “That’s just who he is, right?” shortstop Eric Becker said. “Nothing fazes him.”

UVA played its eighth game of the season Wednesday at Disharoon Park, and Augustin took the mound at the start of the seventh inning. It was his first appearance for the Cavaliers since June 7, 2024, when he pitched well in relief against Kansas State in an NCAA super regional at the Dish.

His emotions Wednesday evening?

“Honestly, just pure joy,” Augustin said after Virginia’s 11-0 run-rule victory over George Washington. “Bliss, I would say. Excitement.  A little nervous. Had some butterflies in my stomach, but it was a lot of fun being back out there.”

Welcome back, Matt!

📺: ACCNX | #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/Yk3dpg8gvx

— Virginia Baseball (@UVABaseball) February 25, 2026

A 6-foot-2, 215-pound right-hander from Cherry Hill, N.J., Augustin struck out the first batter he faced. He walked the next two, however, after which head coach Chris Pollard turned to left-hander Brendan Cowen.

“It was so cool to see Matt Augustin back out there for the first time since 2024,” said Pollard, who’s in his first year at UVA. “He was up to 95 [miles per hour]. The arm looks live, fatigued quickly, but he hasn't had a lot of live outings, even this spring. And so we didn't get him out of there because of ineffectiveness. We just got him out of there because he was starting to fatigue. But it’s a really encouraging sign to see how good his stuff looked.”

Becker said: “He's super, super competitive, and his stuff's obviously amazing. So happy, really happy for him.”

As a first-year in 2024, Augustin made 22 appearances, 21 of them out of bullpen, and helped the Wahoos advance to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. The next winter, however, he suffered nerve damage in his bicep.

“I threw one pitch, just felt something and that was it,” Augustin recalled.

He’d never before dealt with a long-term injury. “Honestly, it was really hard,” Augustin said, “but I know my teammates were there for me, and they picked me up every day.”

His classmates include Becker, who homered to lead off the bottom of the first Wednesday. Becker went 3-for-5, with a career-best five RBI, and ended the game with a two-run double in the bottom of the seventh. Two other Cavaliers had multiple hits against GW (1-6): center-fielder AJ Gracia (2-for-3) and left-fielder Harrison Didawick (2-for-3).

For the season, Virginia (7-1) is averaging 14.5 runs per game and hitting .346. Its offense has often overwhelmed opponents. Its pitching hasn’t been as consistent, and that’s one reason Pollard was in good spirits after the game Wednesday night.

“I thought it was our most complete performance of the year,” he said.

Not only did UVA’s batters go 9-for-25, its pitchers allowed only two hits and four walks.

Freshman Jayden Stroman started against GW and worked two innings. Classmates Noah Yoder and Christian Lucarelli followed, each pitching two innings.

“They’re unbelieveable,” Augustin said of the newcomers. “They're a lot of fun to watch, and just working with them every day is honestly a great experience for everyone.”

Like a work of art 🎨#GoHoos pic.twitter.com/zCSvHozJnk

— Virginia Baseball (@UVABaseball) February 26, 2026

The start was the first of the season for Stroman, who has yet to allow a run in three appearances. “He earned that start,” Pollard said, “and made the most of it. And that was big for us to get Yoder and Lucarelli going a little bit. We got to extend them, which was great.”

Pollard also praised catcher Noah Jouras, who “handled these young arms really, really well and kept those guys in the zone.”

The Cavaliers batted around in the first inning and led 7-0 heading into the second. They didn’t need any more runs, and their pitchers kept the Revolutionaries off the scoreboard.

“I just think it's showing the growth of these guys,” Pollard said of his freshman pitchers. “We knew it was going to be like two steps forward and one step back. When you have young power arms, sometimes when the littlest thing goes awry with their delivery, they get out of the zone. But the more times they go out there and go through the process, the better they get at learning how to self-correct in the moment, and I thought they did a nice job with that today.”

Becker said: “You see that they fill up the zone, and obviously they have pretty electric stuff. So I’m pretty happy that fall ball and the preseason's over with, so I don't have to face those guys anymore.”

UVA, which has won 13 straight home games, meets VCU (4-4) at Disharoon Park on Friday (3 p.m.) and Saturday (1 p.m.). The Rams will host the Cavaliers in Richmond on Sunday afternoon.

ACC play starts March 6 for Virginia, which will play three games at North Carolina that weekend. His top priority between now and then, Pollard said, is “figuring out the depth in the bullpen, and I think we helped solve some of those questions a little bit today. We really believe that Stroman, Yoder, Lucarelli can grow into really good arms, and you saw flashes of that today.”

The coaching staff wants “those guys to be able to gain some confidence and momentum along the way,” Pollard said. “The first thing is to just get them in a competitive environment, let them soak it all in and still be in the strike zone. And now we've got to start growing into putting them in there in some more high-leverage situations.”

Augustin pitched in those situations in 2024, and he’s looking forward to doing so again this season.

“I just know I've got to earn everything that I get,” he said, “and I know it's the same for everybody. So I’m just going to keep taking [advantage of opportunities] and keep doing what I can.”

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