It took awhile, but Virginia eventually found its footing in Friday’s series opener. In a battle between two teams that have not played up to expectations so far this season, it was the Cavaliers (17-11, 7-6 ACC) who defeated NC State 8-6 in Raleigh, N.C.
The Wolfpack (19-11, 5-5 ACC) jumped out to an early 4-1 lead, benefitting from shoddy defensive play leading to a string of errors. Senior pitcher Jay Woolfolk got the start for Virginia and pitched well through 4.2 innings, allowing just one earned run. The bullpen held NC State in check in relief of Woolfolk, as senior Matthew Buchanan and graduate Matt Lanzendorfer worked 3.1 combined innings and kept the Wolfpack off of the scoreboard.
“[Woolfolk] never let it open up too much and we hung in there,” Coach Brian O’Connor said. “[Buchanan] was obviously outstanding. Lanzendorfer walked a couple of guys, but he made big pitches.”
The offense was slow to find its rhythm, but they came quickly through the sixth and seventh innings. Most encouraging was the form in which they arrived — home runs, and lots of them. Both innings began with leadoff home runs — solo shots by junior outfielder Aidan Teel and sophomore infielder Eric Becker.
Neither inning stopped there — the sixth inning featured a three-run shot by graduate catcher Jacob Ference, fully erasing the deficit and putting the Cavaliers in front. In the seventh, Virginia piled on three insurance runs courtesy of Becker’s solo home run, an RBI double by junior infielder Henry Godbout and a subsequent fielding error that allowed junior utility player Chris Arroyo to score.
Just like that, Virginia was back in the driver’s seat with two innings of a total momentum shift, the kind of scoring avalanche that the 2025 Cavaliers have only rediscovered in recent games. The 14-hit, eight-run performance represents the progress Virginia has made.
“[I'm] just proud of our guys,” O’Connor said. “Another victory where we come from behind and find a way and that grit that we play with offensively has been impressive.”
Much remains to be improved, though, as Friday illustrated. A primary reason for NC State’s early lead was fielding errors committed by Cavaliers — three errors total. It is a troubling trend, one that has appeared throughout the season. Virginia is 12th in the ACC by fielding percentage and has committed the fifth-most errors, something that has to change if the Cavaliers want to compete with the best teams in the ACC.
Bullpen inconsistency also remains. Lanzendorfer and Buchanan both had strong outings, but junior pitcher Jack O’Connor had a rocky outing in the ninth inning with a game-sealing save on the line. Two solo home runs were not enough for the Wolfpack to complete the comeback, but the late-game scare was a reminder that the Cavaliers are still working to identify their most reliable bullpen arms when the stakes are highest.
Virginia is back in action Saturday at 3 p.m. with a chance to seal the series victory in Raleigh.
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