Virginia Baseball Cruises Past Richmond 15-5 for Sixth-Straight Win
Surrendering a first-inning grand slam didn't deter the Cavaliers, who once again proved to be masters of the comeback. It took only three innings for UVA to even the score, four frames to take the lead, and No. 9 Virginia (21-4) ultimately cruised to its sixth-straight victory with a 15-5 win over Richmond (9-15) on Tuesday evening at Disharoon Park.
Freshman Freddy Beruvides had a nightmarish top of the first inning on the mound, giving up a single and two walks before Jake Topolski drove a ball deep to left center field for a grand slam. The Spiders threw the first punch and certainly had some confidence after the Cavaliers went quietly in the bottom half of the first.
Jay Woolfolk entered the game in the second and settled things down with a couple of scoreless frames. Virginia got on the board in the bottom of the second as Harrison Didawick and Jacob Ference singled, Henry Godbout brought home Didawick with a sacrifice fly, and Ethan Anderson hit a two-run home run.
UVA tied things up at 4-4 in the bottom of the third as Didawick was hit by a pitch, stole second, and then scored on an RBI single from Anderson. Richmond temporarily regained the lead on an RBI double that knocked Woolfolk out of the game in the top of the fourth, but the Cavaliers fired back right away in the bottom half on a three-run bomb from Harrison Didawick, who continues to lead the team in home runs with 12 on the season.
Matt Augustin took the mound in the fifth and proceeded to throw three scoreless innings, allowing only one hit in the process. Didawick stayed hot with an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth and then UVA seized control of the game with RBI singles from Anthony Stephan, Casey Saucke, and Henry Ford in the seventh.
Virginia tacked on four more runs in the bottom of the eighth as Anderson capped his big day with an RBI single, followed by a two-run single by Luke Hanson, who then scored on a sacrifice fly from Bobby Whalen. Aidan Teel and Ryan Osinski posted scoreless frames in the eighth and ninth to secure UVA's 15-5 victory.
Ethan Anderson and Harrison Didawick led the way offensively, with both players going 3 for 4 with four RBI, a home run, and three runs scored. Tuesday marked the 14th time that Virginia has come from behind to win a game this season. The Cavaliers are 13-2 at home this year and have won their last six games.
Virginia is set for another key ACC series this weekend on the road at No. 11 Duke in a rematch of the 2023 NCAA Tournament Super Regional. The series is set to open on Thursday at 6pm, with game 2 following at the same time on Friday, and the finale starting at 1pm on Saturday. Each of the games will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.