No. 9 Virginia Run-Rules No. 24 Wake Forest to Take Series

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – To seal its third ACC series win of the season, the No. 9 Virginia baseball team (20-5, 6-3 ACC) run-ruled the No. 24 Wake Forest Demon Deacons (17-7, 4-5 ACC) 14-4 on Sunday (March 22) at Disharoon Park.

After trailing 4-2 midway through the fourth, the Virginia offense scored the final 12 runs of the game, including five in the fourth and four in the seventh. While the UVA offense was coming to life, the Cavalier relief duo of Noah Yoder and Lucas posted 4.2 innings of two-hit shutout ball.

On a day where seven different Cavaliers drove in a run, Sam Harris brought in a game-best four runs while Jake Weatherspoon added three more. Eric Becker and Weatherspoon each tallied three hits on the afternoon in support of Yoder, who picked up his first collegiate win.  

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• UVA starter John Paone retired eight of the first nine batters he faced on Sunday before surrendering three runs in the top of the third to give Wake Forest a 3-0 lead after two and a half innings.
• The Cavaliers answered right back in the home half of the inning when Harris plated Weatherspoon and Becker with a base hit to center.
• An inning later, the Demon Deacons pushed across their final run of the weekend with an RBI double to right that made it a 4-2 contest.
• Virginia’s offense erupted for five runs in the bottom of the fourth and a 7-4 lead that was highlighted by a Kyle Johnson three-run homer to left and an RBI triple off the bat of Becker. Johnson’s no-doubter was his third of the season and second on the weekend.
• In the bottom of the sixth, the Cavaliers added two more runs on an AJ Gracia double off the wall in right and a wild bases-loaded RBI groundout from Harrison Didawick.
• Virginia extended its advantage to 13-4 following the seventh stretch when Griffin Enis and Harris each tallied two-run base knocks in the frame.
• Zach Jackson sealed the series and the game for Virginia when he scampered home on a Wake Forest wild pitch with the bases loaded to end the game.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• With the series win, UVA improves to 90-91 all-time against Wake Forest.
• Virginia is now 45-29 versus Wake Forest at home and has won the last eight series played in Charlottesville.
• The Cavaliers have won the first three series in SEC play since 2023.
• On the season, Virginia is 11-0 when scoring 10 or more runs and 14-1 when out-hitting opponents.
• Sunday’s win was the Cavaliers’ eighth come-from-behind win of the season.
• With his single in the third, Eric Becker extended his team-best hitting streak to 13 games.   

FROM HEAD COACH CHRIS POLLARD

“I just think that we had an awesome response after they scored three in the top of the third. I love the response, the fight and the competitiveness of our team in that moment. For me, the other big talking point about this game is that after our offense gets going, it's just an incredible performance from Noah Yoder to really stabilize the game. We were having a hard time getting them off time with anything early in the game and credit to their offense. He just came in and gave us 2.2 innings to give our offense a chance to pull away. I thought it was a really impressive outing.

UP NEXT

No. 9 Virginia will play its next four games away from Disharoon Park, beginning with a neutral site game against former ACC Maryland in Fredericksburg, Va., on Tuesday (March 24). The contest will be played at Virginia Credit Union Stadium, home of the Fredericksburg Nationals. First pitch is slated for 5:35 p.m. on ACCNX and WINA (98.9 FM/1070 AM).