Entering Saturday’s contest against Stetson, Virginia baseball had fared well to start the 2026 season. The Cavaliers (5-1, 0-0 ACC) scored a whopping 56 runs in a double header Feb. 14, and stood at a perfect 5-0.
That perfect record fell Saturday in DeLand, Fla. at the hands of the Hatters (2-5, 0-0 Atlantic Sun).
Virginia’s offense produced fewer than 10 runs for the second time in its first six games, but the primary culprit in the upset loss was the pitching staff and its whopping 12 walks surrendered on the evening.
With the exception of sophomore Michael Yeager, every Virginia pitcher allowed at least one earned run. As a result, Stetson scored more runs than its season average — notching its sixth of the game on a walk-off double.
The Hatters’ upset was not a late-game magic trick. Stetson controlled most of the ballgame, starting out with a 3-0 lead. On the Cavaliers’ statline, sophomore pitcher Max Stammel allowed two earned runs on four walks and two hits. The Hatters also scored another run early, this one unearned off of a throwing error by freshman infielder RJ Holmes, who started at shortstop in place of junior Eric Becker who is dealing with an undisclosed minor injury.
But Stetson's no-hitter only lasted for so long. In the fourth inning, Virginia’s offense broke through courtesy of a three-run home run from junior second baseman Joe Tiroly. In the inning, junior outfielder AJ Gracia and junior first baseman Sam Harris also added hits.
Later on in the sixth, Virginia took its first lead of the evening thanks to a double by junior infielder Antonio Perrotta — pinch hitting for junior utilityman Kyle Johnson — that drove in senior outfielder Harrison Didawick, who had previously singled.
Meanwhile, Yeager kept a clean slate from the fourth inning to the sixth inning. In the seventh, graduate Lucas Hartman took the mound in relief. Hartman kept the Hatters at bay for his first frame — but the eighth inning proved to be disastrous for the Cavaliers.
Hartman allowed a single, which turned into a runner on third base after freshman catcher Thomas O’Connell’s attempt to nail the runner stealing second went awry.
Then came graduate pitcher Tyler Kapa, hoping to preserve the 4-3 lead. A walk, wild pitch and second O’Connell throwing error later, the game was tied. Kapa then walked a pair of batters and hit another with a pitch — turning a 4-3 lead into a 5-4 deficit.
Virginia entered the ninth inning trailing, an unfamiliar situation for these 2026 Cavaliers. But with a heroic swing on a 2-2 pitch, Holmes made up for his early fielding error — launching his second home run in his seventh career at-bat.
Now tied at 5-5 entering the bottom of the ninth inning, Coach Chris Pollard elected to leave Kapa in the game. Kapa walked two Hatters in between a pair of outs. Then came the biggest moment of the game.
With two outs, two runners on and a 1-2 count, Kapa was one strike away from guiding Virginia to extra innings.
Instead, a sixth-straight victory narrowly eluded the Cavaliers.
Kapa’s pitch was smashed by freshman catcher Samuel Fernandez into deep center field, just out of reach for Gracia to make a miraculous catch. As the baseball touched grass, the Hatter dugout erupted in cheers as the stadium lights flashed and Stetson mobbed its teammates at home plate.
Kapa, who had not allowed a hit or walk in his previous 2026 appearances, took the loss.
“Just told our guys, number one, they need to know Tyler Kapa is our closer,” Pollard said postgame. “I've seen him do it now since August. [Kapa is] really, really good. He's got to settle in, just like a lot of our other guys do.”
Virginia concludes its three-game Florida trip Sunday with a 10 a.m. contest against North Dakota State — a chance to rebound after its first loss.
“This will be a good test for us,” Pollard said. “How we came out tomorrow, and how we compete — the type of energy that we have, and I'm confident these guys will do a good job of responding.”
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