The 2025 season has been a trying one for Virginia baseball. As evidence, look no further than the fact that the squad was swept by Liberty. The first matchup was a damning loss March 25 — part of a season losing streak that reached five games. Tuesday, these Cavaliers (20-15, 9-9 ACC) lost to the Flames (23-14, 5-7 Conference USA) yet again.
In a bizarre twist, just two days after a dominant 18-0 win over Pittsburgh, Virginia fell apart in all phases of play to lose 10-3 to Liberty.
The evening was ugly from the start, as junior utilityman Chris Arroyo left the game with an injury on the first at-bat. Arroyo, playing first base, drifted off of the bag to catch an errant throw — and he took a direct hit from freshman outfielder Cal Early of the Flames, who was in a full sprint. Athletic trainer Brian McGuire supervised Arroyo as he walked off the field, and sophomore infielder Antonio Perrotta took Arroyo’s place.
After the collision, the Cavaliers got off to a slow start. Meanwhile, Liberty had no issue lighting up the scoreboard. The Flames took a 3-0 lead in the second inning courtesy of a home run from sophomore catcher Tucker Moore.
The only brief reprieve for the Cavaliers came in the second inning, as Perrotta made the most of his pseudo-start with a solo home run. Graduate catcher Jacob Ference added on, as he hit a single and later manufactured a run with the assistance of a single from freshman outfielder James Nunnallee.
After the first two innings, Virginia trailed 3-2. The deficit was surprising, certainly — but not insurmountable by any means. It soon reached a breaking point, though. Junior infielder John Simmons cranked a grand slam to take a 7-2 lead over the Cavaliers, and that was the dagger.
It should be noted that Tuesday’s contest was a bullpen game for Coach Brian O’Connor, in which he elected to shelve his starting pitchers to save them for an upcoming series at Florida State. Junior right-hander Kevin Jaxel — normally a relief pitcher — got the start and allowed two runs.
Although Jaxel was officially tagged with the loss, he was not the only one responsible for allowing a boatload of runs. Overall, five of Virginia’s relievers eight allowed at least one earned run.
Going with a bullpen game against a team notorious for stealing upsets against Duke, NC State and Wake Forest is a questionable tactic. March 25, at least, the Cavaliers lost a close 5-3 bout. Tuesday, on the other hand, was ugly as Virginia allowed 10 runs. To make matters worse, several star Cavaliers went hitless. In fact, only Perrotta, Ference, Nunnallee and junior outfielder Henry Ford recorded a hit.
In total, Virginia took 36 at-bats and came away with just six hits. That is not a recipe for success.
And so, for the 15th time this season, the Cavaliers left with a loss on their record. But these losses are not just a stroke of bad luck — they are largely made of complete self-destruction on offense as well as the pitching mound.
To put Tuesday’s loss into perspective, O’Connor entered the 2025 season with a 22-3 career record against Liberty. In 21 years under O’Connor, Virginia lost to the Flames just thrice. This year alone, the Cavaliers have lost to Liberty twice.
That alarming fact highlights that Virginia still has a long way to go towards reaching its potential. The time to spark a valiant turnaround is now — especially as the Cavaliers travel to No. 7 Florida State this weekend.
The series begins Thursday at 7:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on ACC Network. This weekend, Virginia will have to demonstrate whether it will be the team that was ranked No. 2 preseason, or the team that got outclassed twice by the Flames. Either way, it will be a telling litmus test.
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