Cavaliers Now

Virginia Baseball Eliminated From ACC Tournament in 12-7 Loss to Florida State

Matt Newton

Griff O'Ferrall fields a ground ball before the Virginia baseball game against Florida State in the ACC Tournament.
Griff O'Ferrall fields a ground ball before the Virginia baseball game against Florida State in the ACC Tournament. / Virginia Athletics

For the third year in a row, Virginia baseball failed to get out of pool play at the ACC Tournament.

Two days after dispatching Georgia Tech 13-0 in what was a meaningless game for the purposes of the tournament, the Cavaliers failed to bring that level of play in the game that mattered. The Seminoles scored 12 runs on 16 hits and led by as many as nine runs as No. 4 seed Virginia (41-15) was eliminated from the 2024 ACC Baseball Championship in a 12-7 loss to No. 5 seed Florida State (41-14) on Friday afternoon at Truist Field in Charlotte.

Joe Savino got the start for Virginia and faced the minimum through the first three innings, retiring the first six batters he faced and then inducing an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play in the top of the third. UVA struck first in the bottom half of the third, as Griff O'Ferrall hit a two-out single and scored on a RBI double from Bobby Whalen.

Virginia's lead didn't last for long, though, as Savino gave up a walk, a double, and then a two-run single to ACC Player of the Year James Tibbs III. Savino ran into more trouble in the fifth, giving up three consecutive singles to load the bases. A run scored on a groundout and then Savino walked the next batter, spelling the end of his outing. Blake Barker entered the game and walked the only batter he faced to bring another run home. Chase Hungate was next out of the bullpen and got the key fly-out to contain the damage, but Florida State still led 4-1 through five innings.

Hungate retired the side in order in the top of the sixth and then O'Ferrall hit a solo home run to straightaway center for just his fifth long ball of the season.

That brought the Cavaliers back within two, but then the Seminoles seized control of the game in the top of the seventh. Hungate, Angelo Tonas, Aidan Teel, and Ryan Osinski pitched in the seventh, but failed to solve the FSU batters, who scored seven runs on seven hits to open up an 11-2 lead.

The Cavalier bats went right to work on reducing the deficit in the bottom of the seventh and did so as they have all season, with the long ball. Ethan Anderson and Luke Hanson each two-run home runs and then Casey Saucke crushed a two-out solo shot off the scoreboard in left field, capping a five-run frame that brought Virginia back within four runs at 11-7.

Jay Woolfolk retired the first two batters he faced in the top of the eighth, but then gave up a solo home run to Tibbs. The next two batters reached on single, but Woolfolk then picked up a strikeout to end the frame. UVA could not repeat its offensive success from the seventh and went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the eighth.

O'Ferrall hit a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth, but the Cavaliers otherwise went down to FSU lefty Brennen Oxford with ease as Florida State sealed its 12-7 victory to win Pool D and advance to Saturday's ACC semifinals.

Virginia, meanwhile, will hope to hear its name called as one of top 16 seeds hosting a regional at the 2024 NCAA Baseball Championship. The complete 64-team tournament field will be unveiled on Monday, May 27th at noon.

Published
Matt Newton

MATT NEWTON

Managing Editor and Publisher, CavaliersNow Email: mattnewton@virginia.eduTwitter: @mattynewtssWebsite | LinkedInย | Instagram Matt Newton is the managing editor and publisher at CavaliersNow. He has been covering UVA athletics since 2019 andย has been the managing editor at CavaliersNow since launching the site in August 2021. Matt covers all things UVA sports, including Virginia basketball and football news and recruiting, former Wahoos in the pros, and coverage of all 23 of the NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. A native of Downingtown, Pennsylvania, Matt grew up a huge Philadelphia sports fan, but has also been a UVA sports fanatic his entire life thanks to his parents, who are alums of the University of Virginia. Matt followed in his parents' footsteps and attended UVA from 2017-2021, graduating with a degree in Media Studies and a minor in Economics in May of 2021.ย