On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, Virginia baseball took to the field a final time against Stanford, looking for a sweep. While the Cavaliers (15-11, 6-6 ACC) made mistakes early on in the game, they were able to come back and defeat the Cardinal (16-9, 5-7 ACC) 9-8 with a walk-off double from junior outfielder Aidan Teel in extra innings.
Throughout the contest, each side took heavy blows. Errors proved costly for Virginia and gave Stanford an early lead. A dropped third strike put a runner on in the top of the second. Later on, errors on a ground ball and a throw from freshman outfielder James Nunnallee allowed for one run to score. Stanford would add a second run in the inning with a sacrifice bunt from junior outfielder Ethan Hott, and a third run would come off the bat of a single from freshman outfielder Tatum Marsh.
The struggles continued in the third inning. After a couple quick outs, junior pitcher Evan Blanco gave up a solo home run to junior infielder Jimmy Nati to extend the lead to 4-0. Blanco had a fine outing, and while some runs were not earned, he gave up too many hits early on. He was replaced by sophomore pitcher Drew Koenen after five innings.
A star for the Cavaliers was sophomore infielder Eric Becker. After hitting a double in his first at-bat, Becker laced a ball to center field that scored two runs. This kickstarted a big third inning for Virginia, as they added a third run when junior infielder Henry Godbout grounded into a double play that scored Becker and a fourth run when graduate catcher Jacob Ference singled. This early comeback proved the team can battle with opponents and handle pressure.
“This team’s got grit,” Ference said. “Obviously we didn’t start well, and before this weekend we weren’t playing how we wanted to play, and this just shows what we’re capable of. We go down, we fight back. We take punches, we give punches back.”
Sophomore pitcher Joey Volchko started the game for Stanford and was inconsistent. He allowed four runs in the third inning, but eventually settled down. However, things soured in the sixth inning when he gave up a ground rule double to Ference. Out of nowhere, Volchko’s control disappeared and he threw two wild pitches against freshman utilityman Chone James. This scored Ference and gave the Cavaliers a 5-4 lead. Volchko would strike James out, but his day subsequently ended after six innings and five earned runs.
However, errors came back to bite Virginia in the seventh inning. With two runners on, senior infielder Temo Becerra laid down a bunt directly to Koenen. With an easy out in hand, Koenen fumbled the ball, allowing all runners to advance with star freshman infielder Rintaro Sasaki coming up to bat.
Koenen was replaced by graduate pitcher Matt Lanzendorfer, but the damage was not done. Lanzendorfer walked Sasaki, tying the game up. He plunked the next batter, giving the Cardinal a lead. Lanzendorfer then induced a double play, but that came at the cost of another Stanford run, extending the lead to 7-5.
From the eighth inning on, the Cavaliers demonstrated resilience. In the bottom of the eighth, they cut the deficit to one run when an error on a routine ground ball scored a run. After giving up a run in the top of the ninth, the team rallied again to score two runs and send the game to extra innings.
Quality at-bats from Becker, sophomore infielder Henry Ford and Godbout tied the game, and Virginia almost won when Ference laced a line drive to left field. However, a miraculous diving catch from Marsh ended the run and sent the game to extra innings.
After the bullpen blanked Stanford in the 10th, Nunnallee opened up the inning for Virginia with a single. With two outs, Teel ripped a double to right field, beating the shift, bringing Nunnallee home and winning the game.
This series has shown that the fight Virginia had in 2024 is back, as the team is looking significantly better. With comeback victories in every game of the series, the Cavaliers have proven that they can overcome adversity against good opponents. As conference play continues, building upon the mentality shown in this series will be crucial for victory.
“I was really impressed all weekend with our team, their attitude, their ‘sticktoitiveness’ that they showed in every game,” Coach Brian O’Connor said. “In every game we fell behind and kept fighting back and that’s what we’ve been searching for for 20-something ballgames.”
This win was also O’Connor’s 900th career victory. Both him and the team were overjoyed he could reach this incredible career accomplishment in such a chaotic game.
“Shout out to [O’Connor],” Teel said. “That means the world to me. He gave me the game ball at the end of the day but to everyone here, that game ball goes to him because he’s the best coach in the world.”
With the series over, Virginia will have a bit of rest before playing a midweek game Tuesday against Old Dominion to conclude the homestand.
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