Following a back-and-forth pair of opening games that included a walk-off loss to Michigan and a narrow victory against Villanova, No. 2 Virginia baseball was able to put its stamp on a successful trip to Puerto Rico with a strong win against Rice Sunday.
The bats came alive and an electric collegiate debut from freshman pitcher Tomas Valincius powered the Cavaliers (2-1, 0-0 ACC) over the Owls (0-3, 0-0 AAC).
Making his first career start, Valincius pitched like a veteran ace — going six innings while allowing only one hit and finishing with 10 strikeouts and no walks. Valincius’ 10 strikeouts were the most by a Virginia freshman since 2013.
For Rice, senior pitcher J.D. McCracken made the start. After making it through a clean first inning, McCracken struggled in his second frame, loading the bases for junior outfielder Harrison Didawick — who came through with a single through the right side to score two runs and put the Cavaliers ahead.
Later in the frame, an error allowed Didawick to come around and score, giving Virginia a 3-0 lead. McCracken failed to record an out in the inning and exited after less than two innings, giving up two earned runs and recording the loss.
Valincius allowed a leadoff double to start the third inning before striking out the side to strand the runner and escape the jam. He then retired 11 of the last 12 batters he faced, showcasing a strong pitch mix and dominating the Owls.
“Valincius was really, good, I imagine his velocity was up to 95-96 [miles per hour], really strong changeup, really good slider,” Coach Brian O’Connor said. “He didn’t look like a rookie out there, he was in complete control and his competitive spirit was really impressive.”
Freshman outfielder James Nunnallee also impressed, leading off the fifth inning with a single before moving over via a walk from sophomore infielder Eric Becker. A sacrifice bunt from junior infielder Henry Godbout then scored Nunnallee, to take a 4-0 lead on a sacrifice fly from sophomore infielder Henry Ford in what was a sound display of situation hitting.
Ford drove in a run and had two hits in what was his best game of the young season, breaking out of a hitless streak through his first eight at-bats of the season.
Virginia wasted no time in the sixth inning as junior outfielder Aidan Teel hit a leadoff double down the right side and scored two batters later as junior infielder Luke Hanson clubbed a double to the left-center gap. Hanson came around to score later in the inning on a passed ball to give the Cavaliers a 6-0 lead.
Valincius then exited the game after the sixth frame and was relieved by junior pitcher Kevin Jaxel, who was able to bounce back strong from a tough appearance Saturday against Villanova. Jaxel worked efficiently around a two-out walk and showcased his athletic ability by fielding a dribbling ground ball with his bare hand and making a jump throw to first to retire the side, preserving Virginia’s shutout effort.
Trying to establish some semblance of offensive rhythm, junior outfielder Trey Duffield and senior infielder Max Johnson combined for a pair of singles off of Virginia’s junior pitcher Joe Colucci in the eighth inning. Colucci only recorded one out before being replaced by senior pitcher Dean Kampschror.
Kampschror’s appearance was short yet productive, striking out the lone batter he faced on three pitches.
O’Connor then turned to sophomore pitcher Drew Koenen for the right-on-right matchup against junior infielder Luke Smith. Koenen was able to generate a soft ground ball to the right side, retire Smith and strand the Owls’ offensive threat.
The Cavaliers took advantage of more mistakes from Rice in the bottom half of the eighth as Hanson led off the inning with a walk before stealing second and reaching third on an error. In a continued display of productive situational hitting, Becker scored Hanson on a sacrifice fly to center field, putting the Cavaliers up 7-0 and cementing their chances at victory.
Koenen continued his work in the ninth, working around a one-out walk while striking out two batters to end the game and secure a dominant finish for Virginia. Five Cavalier pitchers combined for 15 strikeouts on Sunday — an all-around commanding effort.
While the magnificence of Valincius and the bullpen were undoubtedly the story of the game, the Cavaliers’ big bats came to life. Graduate catcher Jacob Ference, Ford and Teel all collected two hits each to lead Virginia to its best offensive output thus far in the 2025 season, finishing with 10 hits and seven runs scored.
“I thought that the middle of our lineup with Ford, Ference and Teel really all three swung the bats well,” O’Connor said. “There's a lot of hype about our team offensively, hitting is a hard thing to do… Just have to stay with the good approach, and that showed up for those guys tonight.”
After Sunday’s victory, the Cavaliers leave Puerto Rico with a 2-1 record — and will now head back to Charlottesville for their home opener against George Washington for a brief interlude at Disharoon Park Wednesday. Should Virginia build upon a promising start for its pitching staff, the early stretch of this 2025 campaign could be incredibly fruitful.
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