College baseball is a volatile sport. Just this Wednesday, Virginia got mercy ruled by a mid-major team in a midweek contest. Fast forward to this weekend, and the Cavaliers (13-3, 2-1 ACC) just won two of three games against No. 8 North Carolina in their house.
At surface level, winning two of three against the No. 8 team in the country is a major achievement for unranked Virginia. This was its first road series win against a ranked opponent since last April at Georgia Tech. However, the Saturday doubleheader was a mixed bag. The Cavaliers dominated 9-2 in the first frame but lost in walkoff fashion 8-7 in game two. Of Virginia’s three losses so far this season, two have come off of walkoff hits.
“I definitely will explain to [underclassmen] obviously we didn't get to win the [second game] but just how big a series win on the road is against [North Carolina], obviously a great team, great environment,” senior outfielder Harrison Didawick said. “It's a big deal on the road in the ACC, and there's nothing to hang your heads on. It was a great weekend.”
The young Cavalier pitching staff was not entirely to blame for a walkoff defeat. Often the culprit of Virginia’s demise, the Cavalier arms stepped up to not only outduel one of the nation’s top pitching staffs but also keep the Tar Heel (13-3-1, 1-2 ACC) bats in the doghouse more often than not Saturday.
In the first game of the doubleheader, sophomore pitcher Max Stammel allowed just one run in six innings of work. North Carolina managed just three hits and a walk against Stammel. Their only earned run tagged to the Virginia starter came off a solo home run in the sixth inning.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers got out to an 8-0 lead by the middle of the sixth inning.
In the top of the third, junior second baseman Joe Tiroly was hit by a pitch and junior first baseman Sam Harris backed him up with a two-run home run just three pitches later.
Later on in the fifth inning, Virginia chased out Tar Heel sophomore starter Ryan Lynch — who started the inning by giving up a single to junior shortstop Eric Becker, walking junior outfielder AJ Gracia and surrendering a single to Tiroly.
“I thought the game plans that we've had against starters have been exceptional, and I thought this weekend was no different,” Coach Chris Pollard said. “We really had a great game plan against all three of those [opposing starting pitchers].”
North Carolina then struck out Harris, but Didawick cranked a two-RBI double and sophomore outfielder Zach Jackson added a two-RBI single. But a 6-0 lead was not enough for the Cavaliers. In the top of the sixth, Virginia pushed its lead to 8-0 when Becker was hit by pitch, Gracia singled and Tiroly drove them both home with a two-RBI single.
Stammel gave up his one earned run in the bottom of the sixth to junior infielder Gavin Gallaher but the Cavaliers got that run right back when Jackson homered in the top of the seventh. Stammel’s afternoon was done by the time the Tar Heels came to bat in the bottom of the seventh — graduate Lucas Hartman took his place on the mound. Hartman allowed a home run to begin his afternoon, but he quickly settled in and pitched the final three innings without allowing another run.
Stammel and Hartman held North Carolina to just two runs, which is its lowest single-game scoring output so far in 2026. The 9-2 win secured a series victory for Virginia.
Roughly an hour later, the Cavaliers and Tar Heels squared off for the second time Saturday. Freshman righty John Paone took the mound for Virginia as the only freshman currently in the Cavaliers’ weekend rotation.
Unlike Stammel, Paone took a moment to get going. Gallaher welcomed Paone to Chapel Hill with his second home run of the doubleheader as North Carolina took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
Right on cue, Virginia’s offense supported its young pitcher with a slew of runs in the top of the second. Jackson doubled, junior utilityman Kyle Johnson walked and Becker drove in Jackson with an RBI single. Johnson was driven in shortly thereafter as Gracia ripped an RBI single of his own. The Cavaliers promptly took a 3-1 lead.
Virginia then pushed its lead to 4-1 thanks to a solo shot from junior infielder Noah Murray in the top of the third. The lead rose to as much as 5-1 when Johnson doubled, advanced on a throwing error and Becker drove him in on a sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth.
Paone, having only allowed one run in the first four innings, ran out of gas in the fifth. His fifth inning consisted of three hits, a hit batter and a wild pitch for two earned runs staining his statline. He finished the frame, but his final statline featured three earned runs in five innings of work.
Senior reliever Kevin Jaxel then took the mound in the sixth. Becker issued a free pass off of a throwing error, Jaxel coughed up a single and both runners came home off of a RBI double. The Cavalier lead was gone. Neither team could muster much offensively for the next few frames. That is, until the top of the ninth.
With the game on the line, Gracia walked and Harris drove him in with a RBI double. Virginia was at the finish line with a one-run lead — so Pollard brought on graduate closer Tyler Kapa.
Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, the Eastern Michigan transfer could not close out a sweep. Kapa gave up a leadoff blast to freshman outfielder Tyler Howe and pressure continued to escalate. North Carolina ended up with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Thankfully for Pollard’s bunch, Kapa was able to rebound by striking out junior catcher Macon Winslow to open the door for extra innings.
However, Virginia was light on relief options after playing four games in five days. Instead of an experienced relief pitcher, the Cavaliers turned to freshman Jayden Stroman to extend the ballgame. He did just that — retiring six of the seven batters he faced in the 10th and 11th innings. The Cavaliers finally gave him some run support in the top of the 12th after Didawick singled and graduate catcher Noah Jouras tripled to drive him in and take a 7-6 lead.
Pollard elected to leave Stroman in the game to close out the win. Unfortunately for the talented freshman, he ran out of gas. Stroman issued a walk, wild pitch and a game-tying double that also placed the game-winning run at second base.
“I thought Jayden was running on fumes a little bit there at the end,” Pollard said. “That's good. That'll build him out, because we're going to keep starting him on Tuesdays, so that will help stretch him a little bit. But just proud of our guys.”
Pollard then turned to freshman righty Christian Lucarelli to keep Virginia alive and play for a 13th inning. But a sweep was not meant to be.
“I thought [we] competed like crazy in this ballgame,” Pollard said.
Lucarelli surrendered a wild pitch, a walk and then the game-ending walkoff single to Howe — the same batter who tied the game in the bottom of the ninth with a solo homer.
The Tar Heels sprinted out of their dugout to celebrate the win. However, broadly speaking, the weekend was an unqualified success for the Cavaliers. A road series win against a top-10 team is a major accomplishment for Pollard’s bunch. Even though losing the series finale in walkoff fashion is undoubtedly frustrating for Virginia, this weekend will certainly help its efforts to return to the national rankings.
“Feels great to be in the win column this weekend,” Didawick said. “It feels, I mean, our team is just a lot of fun to like, play around. It's electric. Every guy wants it.”
Up next, the Cavaliers host William & Mary for a Tuesday afternoon contest at 4 p.m. before hosting Virginia Tech for a weekend series. The Hokies are currently on a six-game losing streak entering their series finale at No. 5 Georgia Tech Sunday. During that losing streak, Virginia Tech has been outscored 71-19.
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