No. 4 Virginia Surges Past No. 22 Georgia Tech 18-9 to Clinch Series Win
On Sunday afternoon, a record-setting crowd of 5,286 spectators piled into Disharoon Park to see No. 4 Virginia play the rubber game of a series against No. 22 Georgia Tech. The Cavaliers gave the large crowd plenty to cheer for, as they beat the Yellow Jackets 18-9 to clinch the series victory.
For the third-straight game, Georgia Tech drew first blood, this time putting up three runs in the top of the first. Tres Gonzalez hit a triple on the second pitch of the game and then scored on a wild pitch from UVA starter Jake Berry. Kevin Parada singled and then Andrew Jenkins went deep for his third home run of the series to make it 3-0. Berry, who made his second-career start on the mound, settled in after that, retiring the next nine batters in order.
In the bottom of the second, Virginia loaded the bases and for the second game in a row, Griff O'Ferrall cleared them with a clutch hit, tripling down the right field line to tie the game 3-3.
After a scoreless third inning, Georgia Tech briefly regained the lead on a sacrifice fly by Drew Compton in the top of the fourth, but UVA responded with a barrage of hits in the bottom half of the inning. Chris Newell walked and Casey Saucke singled to start the inning. Max Cotier brought home Newell with a single to center field and then O'Ferrall walked to load the bases.
Once again, the Cavaliers learned from their missed opportunities with the bases loaded in their 6-4 loss in game 1 on Friday night. Kyle Teel walked to score a run and then Devin Ortiz singled to right field to bring home another. Jake Gelof then came to the plate and delivered a base hit into left field to score two runs.
A Chris Newell walk loaded the bases again with two outs and Casey Saucke singled to right field to score Ortiz and Gelof. Ethan Anderson drew a walk to reload the bases for the third time in the inning and Max Cotier delivered a two-run single. Finally, O'Ferrall came to plate and hit another single to score Anderson. Virginia used seven hits to bring 10 runs to the plate and turned a 4-3 deficit into a 13-4 advantage.
Berry worked through the top of the fifth and then UVA tacked on three more runs in the bottom half of the inning. Alex Tappen doubled to center field to bring home Gelof and then Newell and Saucke got on board to load the bases. Ethan Anderson drew a walk to score Tappen and then Max Cotier grounded into a fielder's choice to score Newell, which made it 16-4.
Georgia Tech put up one more run on Berry in the top of the sixth, before he was pulled for Dylan Bowers. Virginia had an immediate answer in the bottom of the inning, as Jake Gelof crushed his NCAA-leading 14th home run of the season.
The home run was also the 39th Virginia has hit at Disharoon Park this season, setting a new record for single-season home runs hit at the ballpark, with 16 home games still remaining in the regular season schedule.
Georgia Tech put up two runs in the top of the seventh and the top of the eighth, but Virginia's healthy lead was more than enough to carry the Cavaliers to the victory.
After suffering their first home loss of the season on Friday, the Cavaliers bounced back with two strong offensive performances on Saturday and Sunday to clinch the series victory against a very solid Georgia Tech squad. UVA improves to 25-3 overall and 9-3 in ACC play. Virginia is currently second in the ACC Coastal standings behind Miami (21-6, 10-2 ACC). UVA is set to host Liberty on Wednesday at 7pm before traveling to Miami for a three-game series with the first-place Hurricanes next weekend.
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