After a weekend in Jacksonville, Fla. highlighted by victories against three tough opponents and a dominant 16-4 midweek win against Virginia Military Institute, the Virginia baseball team stayed at home for a weekend series against Massachusetts. The Cavaliers (10-1, 0-0 ACC) came into the series as one of 13 undefeated teams left, while the Minutemen (2-5, 0-0 Atlantic 10) came into the series on low spirits after going 1-2 against Bucknell. Despite dropping a game to Massachusetts Saturday at Disharoon Park, Virginia sandwiched the defeat with two quality wins.
Game 1 — Virginia 4, Massachusetts 3
The series opened Friday, with sophomore pitcher Evan Blanco getting the start for Virginia and senior pitcher Max LeBlanc starting for Massachusetts. Both offenses stalled early on, as pitchers were performing well and fielders on both sides made plays. Blanco was stellar for the Cavaliers, tossing 5.2 innings with a career-high eight strikeouts and zero earned runs.
Virginia struck first in the fourth inning when sophomore outfielder Harrison Didawick walked with the bases loaded to score freshman infielder Henry Ford. Later on, sophomore infielder Henry Godbout scored junior catcher Ethan Anderson on a groundout to put the Cavaliers up 2-0. Virginia would hold their lead until trouble mounted in the sixth inning.
Blanco walked senior outfielder Kevin Skagerlind, who then stole second base. Right after, Godbout committed an error on a ground ball to second base that scored Skagerlind. Troubles were not over yet, as graduate catcher Mike Gervasi hit a home run for the Minutemen that put them up 3-2. While no more runs were scored in the inning, the pressure was on for the Cavaliers.
The next few innings went by with no developments. Both bullpens held strong, allowing the occasional base runner but never letting them score. Graduate pitcher Angelo Tonas as well as sophomore pitcher Ryan Osinski stood out in this relief effort for Virginia.
Yet, the bottom of the ninth inning rolled around and the Cavaliers were still losing. Godbout redeemed himself for his error by leading the inning off with a double. Then, a near-perfect bunt for a hit from sophomore infielder Luke Hanson advanced Godbout to third. Finally, a sacrifice fly from graduate outfielder Bobby Whalen scored Godbout and tied the game. Virginia failed to get another run though, so the game headed to extra innings.
The Cavalier defense held up, not allowing an additional run to score. So, when the bottom of the inning came, Virginia controlled its destiny. A Didawick single started the 10th inning, and he heightened the Cavaliers’ winning odds by stealing second base. The next at-bat, Godbout came up clutch again with a single to right field that scored Didawick and won the first game of the weekend.
Game 2 — Virginia 5, Massachusetts 10
Game two saw sophomore pitcher Jack O’Connor on the mound for Virginia. O’Connor however, who is thought to be the ace of the Cavalier staff, had a rough outing. He allowed six hits and six runs — four of which were earned — in just 3.2 innings, which put Virginia in a deep hole. The Cavaliers failed to respond, going scoreless in the first four innings.
A squeeze bunt by junior outfielder Anthony Stephan helped Virginia cut into the lead in the fifth inning. Then, in the sixth inning, sacrifices from Didawick and graduate catcher Jacob Ference cut the lead in half. It seemed like momentum was starting to shift in favor of the Cavaliers, but unfortunately things would never tip the scale.
Both teams scored in the eighth inning, carrying a score of 7-4 Massachusetts going into the final frame. After getting two outs without falling behind much more, it felt like Virginia was going to have a good shot to come back in the bottom half. However, the defense collapsed and gave up more runs. All of a sudden it was 10-4, and the Cavaliers ran out of time.
While Virginia got one run in the bottom of the ninth inning, they still lost their first game of the year, and their first non-conference game since 2023. The team was simply lacking a killer instinct in this game and largely folded once they were put under too much pressure.
“We have to have a better approach to what we’re doing in each facet of the game,” Coach Brian O’Connor said. “College baseball games are hard to win, and we learned today that if you don’t come in with the right approach each and every day, you’ll lose.”
Game 3 — Virginia 10, Massachusetts 6
With game three deciding the series, the Cavaliers came out strong. Virginia had junior pitcher Jay Woolfolk on the mound to start, and he did not disappoint. In what was the longest outing of his Virginia career so far, Woolfolk threw six innings and allowed only one run. The Virginia offense also came to play, scoring nine runs in the first four innings. Godbout and Ford each hit a home run, and five Cavaliers had multi-hit games.
After going up 9-1 early, the Virginia offense slowed down. The lead stayed the same for a while, although both teams scored a run in the seventh inning to make it 10-2. Tonas and Osinski yet again served as a great relief tandem, and the score stayed 10-2 going to the top of the ninth inning.
Then, things got interesting. The Minutemen had a series of hits, and a double from graduate utility player Austin Burgess cut the lead to 10-6. The momentum shifted to Massachusetts, and the Cavaliers started to lose control. Then, sophomore pitcher Aidan Teel entered the game. Teel has been the closer for Virginia so far, and he struck out two batters to end the game at 10-6 and give the Cavaliers another series win.
While losing a game to the Minutemen is not good for Virginia’s resume, the team still won the series and showed they were the better squad. If they want to succeed though, the Cavaliers will have to be more resilient when under pressure. Virginia has two more non-conference games left before they start ACC play next weekend.
The Cavaliers host an interlude game against Penn State Tuesday at 1 p.m. before a second midweek contest at George Washington Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. These games are followed by Virginia’s opening ACC series at Miami Friday at 7 p.m., which will be broadcast on ACCNX.
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