The Cavaliers have tiptoed their way through an up-and-down season thus far.
In short, their currently precarious record is a far cry from the expectations of a team ranked No. 2 nationally in the preseason.
One of those expectations was a relatively safe one. They were expected to feature a dynamic offense. That offense has demonstrated its astronomic potential at times, but certainly not Friday.
Against California, No. 23 Virginia (10-6, 1-3 ACC) managed to score just one run. The Cavaliers have not been held to one run against a non-ranked team since April 17, 2022 at Pittsburgh — nearly three years ago.
That lousy statistic was the overarching theme of a 6-1 loss against the Golden Bears (9-8, 2-2 ACC). The offense never showed up.
A 10-6 record is teetering on the cusp of ringing serious alarm bells, especially considering that California held a .500 record before Friday.
An ACC loss aside, the Cavaliers have faced several high-quality opponents such as No. 8 Oregon State or No. 12 Oklahoma, which can excuse a few early losses. However, Virginia has also lost to some inferior competition — on multiple occasions.
In looking at the Cavaliers’ 10 wins, it is clear that their resume is not impressive. Across Virginia’s victories, the combined winning percentage of all its opponents is a mediocre 43.4 percent. And so, a key theme has developed — the Cavaliers are struggling to win games that they should have no business losing. That is how Virginia finds itself outside the top 10 teams in the ACC standings. A loss to the Golden Bears is a total gut punch.
The Cavaliers had an opportunity to build some momentum in their second ACC series, but instead, they hit a new rock-bottom offensively. It is difficult to win a baseball game when the offense scores one run.
To make matters worse, California had been allowing 4.5 runs per game. The starting pitcher, junior right-hander Austin Turkington, had entered Friday’s contest with an earned run average of 4.15. Against Virginia, he allowed just one run in 6.2 innings of work.
Seven of the Cavaliers’ nine starters had been hitting over .300 — yet Virginia managed just four hits in the game. A handful of walks were drawn, but as evidenced through the scoreboard, that was to no avail.
The pitching staff did not fare much better. Senior right-hander Jay Woolfolk allowed a handful of runs, including his first home run allowed in 2025. He allowed six hits, four earned runs and was tagged with the loss.
Topped off with two errors by the defense, Friday was a night to forget. The Cavaliers will get another chance against the Golden Bears Saturday at 5:00 p.m. EST.
Freshman left-handed pitcher Tomas Valincius is slated to start versus redshirt freshman Gavin Eddy — who currently sports an 0.96 ERA. Clearly, Eddy will present a challenge for Virginia’s offense. Whether or not the Cavaliers will rise to the occasion is to be determined on the baseball diamond.
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