Virginia Baseball Hits Six Homers, Blows Past Louisville to Clinch Series
In a city known for producing baseball bats, it was the visiting Cavaliers who proved theirs had more firepower this weekend.
Eclipsing double-digit runs for the third game in a row, No. 11 Virginia baseball (28-8, 11-7 ACC) clinched the series win by hitting six home runs and blowing past Louisville (21-13, 7-8 ACC) 16-7 in the series finale on Sunday afternoon at Patterson Stadium.
After UVA starter Owen Coady stranded runners on the corners in the bottom of the first, the Cavaliers drew first blood in the second as Harrison Didawick crushed a solo home run to right field, his 15th homer of the season.
Anthony Stephan and Luke Hanson hit back-to-back singles to extend the inning with two outs and then Eric Becker brought them all home with a three-run home run off the batter's eye in straightaway center field.
Casey Saucke joined the home run party with a solo shot to center field in the top of the third, but the Cardinals responded with a long ball of their own in the bottom of the third as Eddie King Jr. hit a three-run home run to get Louisville back within two.
Virginia scored one run in the top of the fourth on an Ethan Anderson sacrifice fly and another in the fifth as Didawick drew a walk, moved to second a wild pitch, advanced to third on a single, and scored on an error.
The Cavaliers completely seized control of the game in the top of the sixth as Anderson scored Becker with an RBI single and then Henry Ford delivered his third home run of the weekend, a three-run bomb to left center field to give Virginia an 11-3 lead.
Ryan McCoy hit a solo homer in the bottom of the sixth for Louisville, but Virginia responded immediately as Luke Hanson hit a solo homer to left center in the top of the seventh.
Hanson went yard again in the top of the ninth and then Casey Saucke hit a bases-clearing three-run double for good measure.
Louisville's Matt Klein hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth, but the Cavalier lead was insurmountable as Virginia went on to win 16-7.
Luke Hanson went 3 for 4 with two home runs and three runs scored, while Casey Saucke had four RBI and Henry Ford and Eric Becker had three RBI apiece.
Chase Hungate earned the win, giving up just one earned run on four hits in four innings of work.
The Cavaliers scored a staggering 47 runs across the three games and came away from Louisville with their fourth ACC series win of the season.
Up next, Virginia has back-to-back non-conference games, visiting Old Dominion on Tuesday at 6pm in Norfolk and then hosting George Mason on Wednesday at 6pm in Charlottesville.