Following an electric three-game winning streak in midweek games across the last fortnight, the Cavaliers looked to continue their late-season resurgence in their return to conference play Friday night against Miami. Virginia (28-16, 12-10 ACC), which entered the matchup in Baseball America’s “Next Four Out” designation for the upcoming NCAA Tournament, was in dire need of a victory.
In the series opener against the Hurricanes (30-19, 14-10 ACC) they got it. The Cavaliers left Disharoon Park with a convincing 6-1 victory, and the hero was not a cohort of batters, but rather an inconsistent pitcher.
Senior right-hander Jay Woolfolk tossed a gem, as he allowed zero earned runs across six innings of work. It was highly impressive, especially considering that Miami averages 6.75 runs per game in 2025. Across the Hurricanes’ 48 games, they have been held to one or fewer runs just four times. Friday marked the fifth time.
“The mentality is ‘win or go home,’” Woolfolk said postgame.
This was Woolfolk’s first scoreless outing of the season, and it comes after he was recently shelled for six earned runs against Georgia Tech April 25. If Woolfolk performs as he did Friday, Virginia could be a prime candidate to steal an upset victory in the postseason.
While Woolfolk shut down Miami, the Cavalier offense wasted no time kicking into gear. A single off the bat of sophomore outfielder Henry Ford plated a run before even one out had been recorded. A strikeout of junior infielder Chris Arroyo did little to quench the flames, as two more singles from senior infielder Henry Godbout and junior outfielder Harrison Didawick tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the first inning.
“Certainly offensively in that first inning, we stepped up,” Coach Brian O’Connor said postgame.
The Hurricanes eventually tallied an unearned run in the top of the third inning after freshman outfielder Michael Torres reached on an error and was driven in through a subsequent double. Yet, that would be all their offense could muster against Woolfolk.
The Cavaliers then generated some insurance in the bottom of the fourth inning, as junior infielder Luke Hanson crushed a solo home run into the left field grandstand on an inside splitter. His third home run of the year left the Cavaliers with a three-run lead as they entered the middle innings, a stage of the game that would present Virginia with another stretch of offensive repose and a couple more scoreless innings in Woolfolk’s third time through the order.
After some quiet innings, the real breakthrough came in the bottom of the eighth courtesy of Didawick. A towering drive to deep right center field surpassed the wall in a hurry, a brief highlight in what has otherwise been a notably horrendous campaign for one of Virginia’s premier talents. The home run put Virginia up by five runs, essentially slamming the door on the Hurricanes.
“If we’re going to continue to move forward to be the kind of team we want to be the rest of the year, then Harrison Didawick needs to be a big part of it,” O’Connor said. “He stepped up tonight.”
Others who stepped up included graduate reliever Alex Markus. After Woolfolk’s six-inning night was over, Markus took over and cruised to the finish line. The right-hander compiled three strikeouts and no walks to carry Virginia home and cement a pivotal win to sustain hope for this season.
“We know what’s in front of us, we know what we need to do,” O’Connor said. “We know we can’t take any game for granted, and we gotta come out ready to play every ball game we have left in this regular season, and hopefully we can repeat that again tomorrow.”
As the season draws to a close, the Cavaliers maintain a precarious grasp on chances of a playoff berth. They have two more games versus Miami, then a home finale against George Mason before one final ACC road series at Virginia Tech. To keep slim NCAA Tournament hopes alive, Virginia will need to finish strong. And with an 11-3 mark the past 14 games, the Cavaliers certainly stand a chance.
Play at Disharoon Park will resume at 4 p.m. Saturday, with the series finale set for 1 p.m. Sunday. Junior left-handed pitcher is slated to start Saturday, while freshman southpaw Tomas Valincius is slotted in as the Sunday starter.
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