After another disappointing appearance at the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., the 2024 season is officially over for Virginia baseball. There were a plethora of highs and lows, from series sweeps and broken records to big games lost and goals not met. Through all of it, however, the Cavaliers’ (46-17, 18-12 ACC) season was an absolute success — after a tremendous regular season, they won the Charlottesville Regional and Super Regional without losing a game and were largely carried by young talent that will be returning in 2025.
The season started on a great note, with Virginia winning its first nine games and not losing a series until the middle of March. During this stretch, sophomore pitcher Evan Blanco emerged as the team’s ace, which will prove to be of use to the Cavaliers again next year when Blanco is a junior. Additionally, players like freshman infielder Henry Ford and sophomore outfielder Harrison Didawick opened up their seasons with impressive slugging performances that put them on the national radar.
Virginia kept winning, only dropping four series all year. The team stayed consistent, getting by with slightly above average pitching while letting their hitting do the work. The Cavaliers finished third nationally in batting average, second in hits and eleventh in home runs. Four players hit double-digit home runs, and all but one starting player recorded a batting average above .300. This led to Virginia being nationally ranked week after week, even peaking at No. 9 in March.
Unfortunately, the postseason is where the Cavaliers’ woes really began to take effect. Pitching was inconsistent outside of Blanco, as he was the only qualified starter by the end of the year. While pitchers like sophomore Cullen McKay, graduate student Joe Savino and junior Jay Woolfolk all got at least seven starts, none of them displayed enough consistency to earn Coach Brian O’Connor’s trust as weekend starters. The bullpen was also a lingering issue all season, as its inconsistency caused the team to struggle to hold late leads, costing them numerous games throughout the year. This meant that Virginia was almost entirely dependent on its hitting to win games.
During the ACC Tournament, that hitting prowess carried the team to a 13-0 mercy-rule win against Georgia Tech. However, it did not deliver against Florida State despite the seven runs scratched across the plate by the offense. While this problem was not season ending in the Regional and Super Regional levels of the NCAA Tournament, it resurfaced in Omaha, when the offense stalled and could not make up for the lack of elite pitching on the Cavalier staff.
Despite the disappointing exit from the College World Series, the Cavaliers still have a lot to be proud of this season. Virginia won the Regional and Super Regional series in front of raucous crowds at Disharoon Park, and numerous players received recognition for their impressive performances.
Junior infielder Griff O’Ferrall won the Brooks Wallace Award, which honors the best shortstop in college baseball, and also took home the Rawlings Gold Glove award for the best defensive shortstop. Junior outfielder Casey Saucke and sophomore infielder Henry Godbout each took home All-American honors from different outlets, while Ford was named a freshman All-American. Lastly, Woolfolk won the Most Outstanding Player of the Charlottesville Regional for his performances against Mississippi State.
Another silver lining for this season is the emergence of younger players that will be critical to the 2025 campaign. In addition to Blanco, the likes of Didawick, Ford and graduate catcher Jacob Ference are all returning and will bring their talent back to the Virginia lineup. Both Godbout and freshman infielder Eric Becker looked solid throughout the season and will bring a steady contact-based hitting approach to level out the team. When the Cavaliers return next spring, they will be a well-balanced team with serious potential to get to Omaha for a third straight season.
All in all, the 2024 season has to be viewed kindly. Only eight teams in the nation get a chance to play in the College World Series, and Virginia was one of them despite being seeded No. 12 in the NCAA Tournament. The Cavaliers put forward plenty to cheer about at Disharoon Park from start to finish, and though things didn’t go their way in Omaha, O’Connor’s team should be applauded for another campaign in which they once again established themselves as a national contender.
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