Virginia baseball has earned the No 12. seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament and the privilege of hosting the Charlottesville Regional as the No. 1 seed in the region. The Cavaliers (41-15, 18-12 ACC) will face off against Pennsylvania in the regional opener Friday at noon. The Quakers (24-23, 11-10 Ivy) will come to Charlottesville as the No. 4 seed in the regional alongside No. 2 seed Mississippi State and No. 3 seed St. John’s. This weekend, Cavalier fans can expect to see a strong, reliable offensive effort headed by junior infielder Griff O’Ferrall, junior utility player Ethan Anderson and sophomore outfielder Harrison Didawick.
While sophomore left-handed pitcher Evan Blanco and graduate right-handed pitcher Joe Savino have all but cemented themselves into the weekend lineup, Virginia is still looking for their third standout arm. Junior right-handed pitcher Jay Woolfolk and graduate left-handed pitcher Owen Coady — who is coincidentally a transfer from Pennsylvania — are in contention for the coveted spot, but anyone in the Cavalier bullpen could get the job.
Offensively, Virginia has been on fire over the last few weeks. As of the ACC Tournament, the Cavaliers have hit 113 home runs this season and have the capacity to add many more to that number throughout the weekend. Didawick has contributed 23 of those, tying Jake Gelof’s single-season program record in the matchup against Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament May 22.
The entire batting lineup is performing at a phenomenal level, with eight of the nine hitting over .300 and the ninth hitting not far from that mark. Graduate outfielder Bobby Whalen leads that lineup with an outstanding .403. Whalen is one of three transfers that have been consistently adding to Virginia’s efforts this season, with Savino and graduate catcher Jacob Ference completing the trio.
Ference — a national champion at Division III Salisbury in 2021 and runner-up in 2022 — has been an immense presence for the Cavaliers in his first season at Virginia. A third-highest .360 batting average and second-highest 17 home runs puts him right near the top in terms of production for the offense.
Freshman infielders Henry Ford and Eric Becker will hope to push the Cavaliers one step closer to a trip to Omaha for a second-consecutive College World Series appearance. Ford — a Charlottesville native — has been a monumental force in his first season. As of May 11, Ford has broken the Virginia freshman record with 16 home runs and set the record for RBIs with 58.
After losing to Florida and TCU in the 2023 College World Series, the Cavaliers will be eager to fight their way back to Omaha. To get there, they have to win their home regional and a Super Regional next weekend.
The Charlottesville Regional is paired with the Fayetteville Regional hosted by the national No. 5 seed Arkansas. If the Razorbacks win their regional, Virginia will have to travel to Fayetteville to face off against them in the Super Regional. No matter how deep a run the Cavaliers make in June, Coach Brian O’Connor knows his team will not overlook the work they have done just to get there.
“They’ve earned the opportunity to be in the NCAA Tournament,” O’Connor said. “Sometimes people can take that for granted. I know our players and staff don’t take that for granted because it is very hard to do.”
As for how the Cavaliers can make a deep run, they will need to focus their attention on bullpen pitching — a weakness that has stolen the thunder of the strong offense throughout the season. If Virginia can clean up that side of its game, there is no reason the Cavaliers can not find their way back to Omaha for a shot at a second national title.
With Virginia set to host its 11th regional during the 21 seasons that O’Connor has been at the helm — and with a blend of talent from returners, freshmen and transfers — the Cavaliers have everything they need to put together a strong postseason performance.
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