With momentum in hand after a sweep of Miami last weekend, Virginia baseball went down the road to Blacksburg, Va. for their final series of the season against Virginia Tech. With NCAA tournament hopes on the line for both teams, the Cavaliers (31-16, 15-10 ACC) used some late-game slugging and an incredible outing from senior pitcher Jay Woolfolk to power past the Hokies (29-23, 11-17 ACC).
Virginia attacked sophomore pitcher Brett Renfrow early, looking to continue their offensive momentum from the previous weekend. A double from junior outfielder Aidan Teel got a runner in scoring position in the first inning, and he scored on a single from sophomore outfielder Henry Ford.
However, Renfrow did not break under the Cavalier pressure — and battled back to put on a good performance. Virginia had the bases loaded in the fourth inning, but Renfrow was able to induce contact to generate outs, keeping the score at 1-0. In the fifth inning, a great pickoff move allowed Renfrow to get out of a jam. By the time his day was done, Renfrow threw six innings and allowed just two runs.
“Renfrow’s a great pitcher, I think he’s really outstanding,” Coach Brian O’Connor said. “I thought our guys battled him and once we were able to get him out of the game we were able to open it up a little bit.”
On the other side, Woolfolk was dominant throughout his start for the Cavaliers. Woolfolk went to work in many different ways, striking batters out and inducing weak contact. His start was also efficient, and he finished at 94 pitches through eight innings. It appears as if “Playoff Jay” is back again, and strong performances from Woolfolk down the stretch will be imperative if Virginia is to make a run in the postseason.
“[Woolfolk] is a big game pitcher,” O’Connor said. “He showed that last year, that when the moment’s big he’s at his best.”
This pitcher’s duel continued for much of the game, and no runs were scored between the bottom of the first inning and the top of the sixth inning. This streak was broken when junior outfielder Harrison Didawick was able to score junior outfielder Chris Arroyo with a single to right field, extending the Virginia lead to two.
With graduate pitcher Cameron LeJeune on the mound from the Virginia Tech bullpen, sophomore infielder Eric Becker extended the lead in the seventh inning when he dropped a double into center field that scored junior infielder Luke Hanson. Yet, like the fifth inning, poor baserunning again killed a potential big inning for the Cavaliers when Becker and Ford got into a double play that was so close it required extensive review.
The Hokies entered the bottom of the seventh inning looking for a spark, and got it on their second hit of the game when junior infielder Clay Grady got a leadoff double. Seizing the momentum, redshirt senior Sam Tackett launched a home run over the left field fence to cut the Virginia lead to 3-2. Another single gave Virginia Tech a chance to take the lead, but a strikeout ended the comeback bid one run short in the seventh inning. This would soon be devastating.
Despite Virginia lacking clutch hitting all night, Arroyo found a way to extend the lead with an eighth inning moonshot to right field that doubled the Cavalier lead and sparked an offensive resurgence. Later in the inning, Didawick dropped a blooper into center field that scored graduate catcher Jacob Ference. A pair of singles from freshman outfielder James Nunnallee and Hanson scored another run, and a single from Becker got both of them in. By the time the bottom of the eighth inning rolled around, Virginia was winning 8-2.
With some added insurance from a Ference home run and a couple other big hits, the Cavaliers closed out an easy victory in the bottom of the ninth. Graduate pitcher Wes Arrington had no problem closing out the Hokies, and Virginia won 12-2 over Virginia Tech.
The offense was electric for Virginia Thursday, and the Cavaliers dominated despite some struggles in clutch scenarios. With the Hokies presenting poor pitching depth, it will be critical for the Cavaliers to capitalize and use their surging offense to power another series victory.
“We are doing a lot of good things, playing good defense, being aggressive on the bases, taking the extra bases,” O’Connor said. “It has been a total team effort in every phase, and that is why we are having the success we are having.”
The series continues Friday, with first pitch taking place at 3:00 pm. The pitching matchup is expected to be junior Bradley Hodges for Virginia against freshman Jake Marciano for Virginia Tech. The game will be streamed on ACCNX.
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