Virginia Baseball Erupts for 21 Runs, Crushes Louisville to Claim Series Opener
Virginia baseball is no stranger to putting up staggering offensive numbers, but the series opener at Louisville was something else. Friday night marked the 17th time the Cavaliers scored double digits this season, the eighth time they've scored 15 or more runs, and the third time the Hoos have put up more than 20 runs. It was the first time UVA had scored that many runs against an ACC opponent, though.
No.11 Virginia (27-7, 10-6 ACC) hit five home runs and scored 21 runs on 21 hits to steamroll Louisville (20-12, 6-7 ACC) 21-3 to open the weekend series on Friday night at Patterson Stadium.
The home run derby started early on, as Henry Ford delivered a two-run home run to left center field in the top of the first inning. UVA starter Evan Blanco gave up a solo home run to Dylan Hoy to lead off the bottom of the first, but Blanco bounced back to retire 14 of the next 15 batters and held the Cardinals scoreless for the next four innings.
The Virginia bats made sure Blanco didn't feel much pressure on the scoreboard for long, as Jacob Ference hit a solo home run to straightaway center field to lead off an inning that saw the Cavaliers plate three total runs, with Griff O'Ferrall hitting an RBI double and Bobby Whalen bringing O'Ferrall home with a single to make it 5-1.
Henry Ford blasted his second home run of the game to left field to start the top of the third inning, giving the Charlottesville native freshman 10 homers for the season.
Blanco continued to dazzle with 1-2-3 frames in the third and fourth innings and then worked around a double in the bottom of the fifth. UVA added two runs in the top of the sixth as O'Ferrall scored Ethan Anderson with a sacrifice fly and Eric Becker scored on a wild pitch.
Blanco gave up a second home run in the bottom of the sixth, a two-run homer to Luke Napleton to make it 8-3.
The Cavaliers extended their lead to 11-3 in the top of the seventh on RBI singles by Ference, Anderson, and Luke Hanson.
Chase Hungate came in to relieve Blanco and retired all six batters he faced in the seventh and eighth. At that point, Virginia's lead was well in hand entering the ninth inning, but then things got out of hand.
A total of 15 UVA batters came to the plate and the Cavaliers scored 10 runs on nine hits, including a three-run home run from Eric Becker, a two-run home run from Jacob Ference, his second of the night, and RBI singles from Luke Hanson, Antonio Perrotta, and Harrison Didawick.
Patric Menk protected UVA's 18-run lead with an easy 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth to end the game.
Virginia's ridiculous offensive performance overshadowed a fantastic pitching outing from Evan Blanco, who posted his fourth win of the season, giving up three earned runs on six hits in six innings of work and recording a career-high 11 strikeouts in the process.
Although he didn't have a single RBI in the game, Ethan Anderson was a perfect 5 for 5 with four runs scored. Henry Ford and Jacob Ference both hit two home runs and combined for six hits, seven RBI, and seven runs scored.
Virginia will look to clinch the series against Louisville in game 2 on Saturday at 1pm on ACC Network Extra.