Cavaliers Now

Ethan Anderson Leads No. 8 Virginia to Blowout 19-6 Win at VCU

Anderson had five hits and homered from both sides of the plate in the Cavaliers' runaway road win over the Rams
Matt Newton|
Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics

After being held relatively quiet in a series loss to Pittsburgh over the weekend, the Cavalier bats returned to form with a bang on Tuesday night in Richmond. UVA put on an offensive show up and down the starting lineup, headlined by an outstanding performance from Ethan Anderson. No. 8 Virginia scored 19 runs on 22 hits and routed VCU for a 19-6 victory on Tuesday night at The Diamond in Richmond. 

UVA wasted little time getting to VCU starter Cam Nuckols, as Griff O'Ferrall hit a leadoff single and then Kyle Teel hit a two-out two-run home run to right center in the top of the first. Unsatisfied with their early 2-0 lead, the Cavaliers continued to cause problems for Nuckols in the second inning. Casey Saucke hit a leadoff single and then Nuckols proceeded to hit the next three batters, allowing one run to score. Ethan O'Donnell brought in another run with an RBI groundout and then, with runners on second and third, the home run king himself Jake Gelof delivered his 17th long ball of the season, a three-run bomb to right center field . 

The Rams finally changed pitchers after that but it didn't help their case much. Teel walked and Ethan Anderson doubled to put runners on second and third. Anthony Stephan scored Teel with a sacrifice fly and Casey Saucke brought in Anderson with an RBI single, giving Virginia an overwhelming 9-0 lead after just two innings. 

UVA starter Connelly Early breezed through the first two innings with just one baserunner allowed, but VCU got to him for three runs in the bottom of the third off of a solo homer from Nic Ericsson and a two-run double from Will Carlone. The Cavaliers answered with two more runs in the top of the fourth on a moon-shot to right field by Ethan Anderson. 

Anderson had himself a game on Tuesday night. After hitting that impressive homer from the left batter's box in the fourth, Anderson hit another home run in his next plate appearance in the sixth, a solo shot from the right batter's box, completing the rare achievement of homering from both sides of the plate in the same game in consecutive at-bats. 

Anderson got a hit in each of his first five at bats, becoming the first Cavalier since Nick Howard in 2013 to have five hits in a game, and also matched a UVA program record with three doubles in the game. 

Virginia added six more runs in the top of the seventh as Colin Tuft scored on a single by Ethan O'Donnell, O'Ferrall scored on fielder's choice grounder from Gelof, and Gelof scored on a wild pitch before Luke Hanson hit a bases-clearing three-run double into the gap in left center field. UVA tacked on one more run in the eighth on an RBI single from Gelof, who finished the game with five RBI and two runs scored. 

VCU managed to score three runs on Matthew Buchanan in the ninth, but the UVA bullpen otherwise took care of business to secure the 19-6 victory. Early was credited with his eighth win of the season after striking out six batters in five innings of work and giving up three earned runs on five hits. 

Nine different Cavaliers crossed the plate in the game, six different UVA batters recorded multiple hits, and five players recorded multiple RBI, led by Jake Gelof with five RBI and three RBI each from Luke Hanson and Ethan Anderson, who was robbed of a 6 for 6 night by a diving catch by VCU center fielder AJ Mathis in the eighth inning. Still, it was a fantastic night for Anderson, who went 5 for 6 with four runs scored, three RBI, three doubles, and two home runs. 

With the win, Virginia improves to 32-6 overall and 20-0 in non-conference games this season. UVA hits the road for a three-game series at Notre Dame this weekend, beginning with game 1 on Friday at 6pm. 

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.

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