By Sean Ryan
CollegeBaseballInsider.com Co-Founder
(photo gallery by Chase Wingfield)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – In its relatively recent history of being a college baseball powerhouse, Virginia hasn’t minded playing with its back against the wall.
In five of their eight trips to the Super Regionals, the Cavaliers have dropped the first game of the best-of-three series that secures a trip to the College World Series – including Friday’s 5-4 loss to Duke. On three of those previous four occasions, Virginia has managed to take the final two games to advance to Omaha.
Virginia is trying to make it four out of five.
Ethan Anderson went 2 for 4 with a game-changing three-run homer and three runs, and Jake Gelof added three hits – including his school-record 23rd homer of the season – with two runs and four RBI as the Cavaliers hammered the Blue Devils 14-4 Saturday afternoon before a sellout crowd of 5,919 at Disharoon Park.
“I’ve always believed at this time of the year, the calmer, more poised warrior wins most of the time,” Virginia coach Brian O’Connor said. “That’s individually and collectively as a group. So I do my best to keep my emotions under control. Kind of the hay’s in the barn. You’ve prepared them. It’s a matter of them going out and being loose and having fun and letting their ability take over.”
The Cavaliers (49-13) appeared plenty loose at the plate from the get-go.
Shortstop Griff O’Ferrall ripped the second pitch of the game from Alex Gow (3-4) over the wall in left-center for his first homer of the season. Virginia added two more in the second on Anthony Stephan’s sacrifice fly and Henry Goodbout’s RBI single and made it 4-0 in the fourth on Harrison Didawick’s sacrifice fly – actually a hard line drive – to center.
Duke (39-23), the home team for Game 2 of the Super Regional, pounced on Cavaliers starter Connelly Early for three unearned runs with two outs in the bottom of the fourth to make it 4-3. Luke Storm (3 for 4) and Damon Lux (2 for 4, 2 RBI) had back-to-back doubles, with Storm’s being a two-run shot. Tyler Albright (3 for 4, 2 R) got things going that inning with a single.
Virginia punched right back in the top of the fifth.
Anderson launched a towering three-run homer to right, and Stephan followed suit with a line-drive homer to the seats in right one out later. Gelof hit a line shot off the wall for a two-run double in the sixth and then followed with a 442-foot, two-run homer down the left-field line as part of a four-run eighth as the Cavaliers pulled away.
“Virginia showed off their offense, which can be really explosive, today,” Blue Devils coach Chris Pollard said. “I thought we helped them a little bit, candidly, and it doesn’t take anything away from their performance, but we spotted them some leadoff batters in a couple of different innings. And we had several, I think four off the top of my head, 0-2 pitches to put away an at-bat that we didn’t make.”
Early was the beneficiary of the offensive outburst, improving to 12-2 with another strong outing to challenge his outing last week against East Carolina in the Regionals. A lightly-recruited lefty from nearby Richmond who spent two years at Army and was the Patriot League Pitcher of the Year before transferring to Virginia this year, Early worked seven innings with nine hits, three unearned runs and eight strikeouts.
Mixing four pitches for strikes, including a splendid change and sharp slider, Early threw a first-pitch strike to 23 of the 31 batters he faced.
“I felt like I had pretty good command of my stuff today,” Early said. “Just trying to get ahead of batters is the biggest thing, going 0-1 to start yourself off in all those at-bats is huge because it makes a hitter a little more defensive at the plate.”
The ACC rivals meet for the sixth time this season Sunday at noon. Duke won the regular-season series by taking two of three in Durham. The Cavaliers are shooting for their sixth trip to the College World Series, all since 2009. The Blue Devils, in their third Super Regional since 2018, are trying to return to the College World Series for the first time since 1961.
“I told our team, it doesn’t matter if it’s 5-4 or 14-4, we’re in a 1-1 rubber match, winner-take-all tomorrow,” Pollard said. “I can promise you there’s no pity party on the bus ride back to our hotel. We will regroup quickly, and we’ll come out and go punch for punch tomorrow.”