With a third consecutive conference series win secured over then-No. 24 Wake Forest this weekend, No. 9 Virginia travelled to Fredericksburg Tuesday for a cold, marquee midweek against Maryland.
Tuesday’s matchup marked the second meeting between these teams since 2015’s Charlottesville Super Regional, where Virginia swept Maryland en route to the program’s first national championship. More recently, the two programs faced off last year in Fredericksburg, when Virginia escaped with a win on a walk-off wild pitch.
This back-and-forth game seemed destined for similar late-inning dramatics, though the Cavaliers (21-5, 6-3 ACC) pulled away with an overwhelming offensive attack that was too much for the Terrapins (11-13, 1-5 Big Ten).
“People that look at the box score are going to be fooled,” Coach Chris Pollard said. “For seven innings that was a back-and-forth, really good ball game, with two teams that were both playing really well ... throwing strikes and making great plays defensively.”
Continuing to impress on both sides of the ball, junior designated hitter Kyle Johnson broke the game open and gave the Cavaliers their first lead in the second with a single to shallow left field.
Freshman right-hander Jayden Stroman got the ball for Virginia for the fifth consecutive midweek. Stroman worked relatively cleanly through the first two innings before allowing four hits in the third, ultimately exiting after surrendering two earned runs with no strikeouts in 2.1 innings.
The Cavaliers responded immediately in the bottom of the frame, with junior outfielder AJ Gracia and junior infielders Joe Tiroly and Sam Harris all collecting RBI singles to put Virginia back ahead 4-3. Maryland starter Nic Morland followed a similar fate to Stroman, allowing three earned runs and exiting after 2.1 innings.
The results from the third inning proved indicative of the Cavaliers’ balanced approach at the plate. With colder temperatures and Terrapin pitchers generally throwing with less velocity, it proved difficult to elevate the ball and drive it out of the park. Maryland was able to take away the home run ball entirely, requiring Virginia to create runs in alternative fashions.
The Terrapins made this difficult as well, allowing their first walk in the seventh inning. Still, Virginia manufactured runs by putting together quality at-bats and spraying the ball across the field.
“We realized the ball wasn’t going to leave the yard today,” Coach Pollard said. “We’re going to have to manufacture it and string hits together. We did a really good job with two outs and also a good job of using [all parts of the field].”
Trailing 6-5 in the seventh, the Cavaliers began their surge with an RBI double from senior Harrison Didawick and an RBI single through the right side from junior infielder Noah Murray. Murray broke out Tuesday with three hits and two RBIs after going just 1-for-10 against the Demon Deacons over the weekend.
Holding a one-run advantage heading to the bottom of the eighth, Virginia set out to add insurance and ensure a comfortable finish in Fredericksburg. Its offense delivered — and then some.
Nine runs, five hits and five free passes gave the Cavaliers far more than breathing room as they mercy-ruled the Terrapins in eight innings with an offensive onslaught. Maryland’s pitching clearly unraveled in the inning, with sophomore righty Logan Hastings giving up five earned runs and junior lefty Landon Edwards surrendering four earned runs on just two hits.
In total, the Cavaliers tallied 19 hits, with all 10 batters recording at least one hit and six posting multi-hit performances. Virginia took what it was given when the walks started piling up for Maryland, and the results spoke for themselves.
If you were to look for a criticism or flaw in what has been an elite Virginia offense to this point in the season, it is a reliance on the long ball. Its abundance of power has prevented that from becoming an issue so far, but high-level ACC arms could challenge that down the stretch. Tuesday’s effort showed an ability and willingness to execute quality at-bats in other ways — something that could prove critical moving forward.
Junior right-hander Matt Augustin and graduate right-hander Tyler Kapa were dominant at the back end of the bullpen once again, each recording two strikeouts and allowing no earned runs to preserve the Cavalier lead.
Virginia’s mini road trip will continue this weekend as the Cavaliers travel to Chestnut Hill, Mass. to take on an impressive Boston College team. The Eagles (17-8, 6-3 ACC) have exceeded expectations in conference play, setting up a high-profile matchup that is set to start with first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. Friday.
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