Virginia Baseball | Nine-Run First Inning Powers No. 7 Virginia Past Mountaineers

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 7 Virginia (30-4) was down 3-0 in the top of the first but responded with nine runs in the bottom half of the inning in an eventual 16-4 victory over Mount St. Mary’s (15-16) on Wednesday at Disharoon Park. The Cavaliers improved the nation’s longest winning home winning streak to 23 games and are college baseball’s first team to 30 wins.

It marked the fourth time this season UVA has scored nine or more runs in an inning and it was the most first-inning runs by UVA since plating nine against William & Mary on March 1, 2016. Virginia needed only 11 hits to score 16 runs, the 12th time in the last 13 games UVA has racked up double-digit base knocks. Sophomore Griff O’Ferrall went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, two RBI and two stolen bases in the contest. Jake Gelof hit his fifth home run in the last five games, a two-run shot in the third inning.

Seven Cavalier pitchers limited the Mountaineers to four hits and the Virginia staff did not allow an earned run in the contest. The Cavaliers have not allowed an earned run in their last 18 innings pitched. Chase Hungate was credited with his third win, pitching 2.1 innings of one-hit baseball.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Cavaliers sent 13 batters to the plate in the bottom of the first and capitalized on three walks, a hit by pitch and two Mount St. Mary’s fielding errors in the frame. Casey Saucke broke through with UVA’s first hit, a two-run double to put UVA in front 4-3. The next batter, Henry Godbout, doubled to left center to plate two more runs.

• O’Ferrall drove in his first run of the contest with an RBI single before UVA plated a pair of unearned runs to make the score 9-3.
• Gelof, fresh off breaking UVA’s all-time home record in Tuesday’s contest, went deep for the fifth time in five games. He hit an 0-2 pitch off the batter’s eye in center field, his team-leading 14th home run of the season. The 39th home run of Gelof’s career gave UVA a 12-3 advantage after three innings.