Fans in left field were treated to a laser show Saturday afternoon in the second game of No. 14 Virginia’s series with Virginia Tech. A total of six home runs landed in the left field bleachers.
For the No. 14-ranked Cavaliers (16-3, 4-1 ACC), the 2026 season thus far has been defined by resilience in the face of adversity. Virginia did not field its top starting lineup until Saturday against the Hokies (8-9, 1-4 ACC), when junior catcher Jake Weatherspoon made his long-awaited season debut.
“That felt awesome,” Weatherspoon said postgame. “It's been a while since I've really played baseball at all, or, let alone had a live at-bat.”
Weatherspoon’s first at-bat resulted in a booming home run into the left field bleachers. That plate appearance summed up the afternoon — a 10-5 beatdown of rival Virginia Tech.
“You can't hang a breaking ball to [Weatherspoon],” Pollard said. “He led our team in home runs this fall, and he loves that pitch ... And it was great to see him back in there. I know it. It really breathes some life into our dugout. He's a really well-respected player within our program.”
Weatherspoon’s debut was the highlight of a run-infused afternoon at Disharoon Park. But in the grander scheme of things, Virginia has now won the series 16 of 21 times since the Hokies joined the ACC.
In the 2025-26 Commonwealth Clash, the Cavaliers now lead 11-4. The next win will clinch the overall Commonwealth Clash, and the first opportunity to do so is men’s tennis April 9 on the road.
Continuing a theme of Coach Chris Pollard’s 2026 team, Virginia got out to a 4-0 lead early as the dominant Cavalier offense blitzed junior pitcher Brett Renfrow in the first inning. By the end of the second inning, Virginia bullied Renfrow for the equivalent of a full touchdown of a Cavalier lead. Coach John Szfec pulled the former All-ACC pitcher after just two frames, trailing 7-0.
Junior infielders Sam Harris and Joe Tiroly each crushed a home run to build that lead, and Tiroly’s came with three RBI.
Meanwhile, sophomore lefty Max Stammel sat down eight straight Virginia Tech batters after allowing a leadoff single in the first. Virginia’s Saturday starter was cruising until he encountered some trouble in the top of the fourth inning. Stammel gave up a leadoff double to sophomore designated hitter Hudson Lutterman — just the second hit Stammel allowed in the game.
Next, against senior catcher Henry Cooke, sophomore outfielder Zach Jackson dove to make a catch in right field but couldn’t get it and it bounced off him. Lutterman advanced to third, yet did not score as Jackson’s great throw back prevented a run. Then, in a strange play, graduate outfielder Sam Gates blooped a perfect bunt over Stammel’s head for an RBI.
Then the floodgates burst open as senior infielder Owen Petrich cranked a three-run homer to left field and suddenly the Cavalier lead descended to 7-4.
Right on cue in the bottom of the fourth, junior outfielder AJ Gracia earned a run back with a solo shot — his second day in a row with a home run. Later on, Harris smashed another homer to left for his second round trip of the afternoon. The scoring frenzy at this point had reached a score of 9-4 in favor of Virginia after just four innings.
“I feel like I've always had power,” Harris said. “But just keeping my approach pretty simple, staying backside, I think I take my best swing when my approach is backside. And got two good swings today.”
The home run derby was not over.
Lutterman deposited a home run in the top of the fifth — to left field, of course. And then the Cavaliers responded. Virginia’s offense loaded the bases with walks in the bottom of the frame. Szefc at this point had turned to a second bullpen arm in senior Josh Berzonski, who escaped with just one earned run off a sacrifice fly by junior shortstop Eric Becker.
Becker’s RBI gave the Cavaliers a 10-5 lead, marking the eighth time Virginia has scored double-digit runs in its first 19 games.
After the fifth inning, the scoring frenzy finally settled down. Stammel departed with a quick one-two-three inning in the top of the sixth — freshman Noah Yoder followed with two scoreless innings and senior Kevin Jaxel topped it all off with a scoreless ninth.
The Hokie pitchers stopped the bleeding with Berzonski striking out six Cavaliers and allowing just one hit in three innings of work.
By afternoon’s end, though, Virginia had won its second straight ACC series.
The final game of the weekend will be Sunday at 1 p.m. Freshman righty John Paone is set to start for the Cavaliers while Virginia Tech’s starting pitcher has yet to be announced. Paone is 1-0 with a 3.24 earned run average in four starts this season.
But before Virginia fans turn to the series finale, all eyes are on Charlotte, N.C. tonight as men’s basketball takes on No. 1 Duke in the ACC Tournament championship game.
“What an incredible job [men’s basketball] have done,” Pollard said. “Win or lose, this has been an unbelievable year. They've got a team that's well positioned to make a deep, deep run in the NCAA Tournament, but let's go bring a championship home [tonight].”
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