CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Junior Jake Gelof hit his 38th career home run, a solo shot in the fifth inning to break UVA’s all-time home run record as No. 7 Virginia (29-4) shut out Richmond, 18-0 in seven innings at Disharoon Park on Tuesday (April 11). The Cavaliers extended the nation’s longest home win streak to 22 games with the victory.
Gelof ignited an eight-run fifth inning by lining a 0-2 pitch over the left field wall. The historic home run placed him alone atop UVA’s career home run list, surpassing E.J. Anderson (1995-98) for the program record. Gelof has sprinted towards the finish line with four home runs in his last four games. He went 1-for-2 with a walk, two runs scored and an RBI in Tuesday’s contest.
We have a new UVA home run king! 👑
Career HR No. 3️⃣8️⃣ breaks the program’s all-time record!
📺: ACCNX | #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/KdmtcPL9ni
— Virginia Baseball (@UVABaseball) April 11, 2023
Gelof has amassed the 38 home runs over 129 career games and 454 at bats. He hit four as a freshman in 2021, 21 as a sophomore in 2022 and has a team-best, 13 this season.
The Cavaliers scored 15 runs, eight in the fifth and seven in the sixth, to record their second run-rule win over the season. Ethan Anderson and Harrison Didawick each hit grand slams in the contest, the fourth time since 2000 that UVA has hit two grand slams in the same game.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Virginia controlled the game from the start, plating two runs in the bottom of the first. Ethan Anderson drove in the first run of the game with a two-out single that scored Griff O’Ferrall. Gelof scored on a wild pitch to make it 2-0 after two.
HOOS ON THE BOARD!! Two-out RBI single by Ethan Anderson plates Griff O’Ferrall!
📺: ACCNX | #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/9CKYQb1szG
— Virginia Baseball (@UVABaseball) April 11, 2023
- Virginia scored seven of its eight runs in the fifth inning with two outs and sent 13 batters to the plate. Didawick broke the game open with a towering blast over the right field wall, UVA’s first grand slam of the season.
GRAND SLAM! Harrison Didawick breaks it open here in the 5th!
Hoos score 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 runs in the 5th (7 w/ 2 outs) to take an 11-0 lead on Richmond.
📺 ACCNX | #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/Wm1NglyzNZ
— Virginia Baseball (@UVABaseball) April 11, 2023
- Up 11-0 going into the sixth, UVA tacked on seven more runs, capped by the first career grand slam of Ethan…