Virginia had little to lose, but everything to gain. A monumental win was snatched, ferociously, through a flurry of devastating home runs. The result was a 16-10 heartbreaker.
Graduate reliever Lucas Hartman came into the game in the seventh inning with a 9-7 lead. The mighty Georgia Tech had just previously tacked on two runs to halve a four-run deficit for the golden-helmeted hosts. This was, by all accounts, a crucial moment in a crucial game.
Hartman jumped ahead to put senior outfielder Parker Brosius in an 0-2 count with two outs and the bases loaded. This next pitch would swing the game dramatically in either direction.
Hartman delivered a changeup. It stuck right down the middle of the plate. Brosius swung. He nearly missed the offspeed pitch, but his barrel connected with Hartman’s changeup. Then the ball carried, flying further and further until it cleared the centerfield wall for a grand slam. Hartman gave up a solo shot to the next batter to make matters worse for his eighth-seeded Cavaliers (36-21, 14-16 ACC).
Virginia’s 9-5 lead turned into a three-run deficit after a disastrous seven-run seventh inning. In a game they once had firmly under control, they lost 16-10 thanks to a combined nine RBI by Brosius and junior shortstop Carson Kerce.
Even though the loss came in embarrassing fashion, there is no shame in losing to the Yellow Jackets (46-9, 25-5 ACC) in the ACC Tournament Quarterfinals in Charlotte, N.C. Georgia Tech is the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament, and the No. 3 team nationally. They achieved those rankings through a vicious offense that leads the country in hits and batting average. The first five hitters in their lineup were named First Team All-ACC.
By all accounts, the Yellow Jackets reside in college baseball’s most elite echelon. They were expected to cruise past ACC competition — which they have done all season — and, more likely than not, dispatch Virginia with little difficulty.
Thursday’s ACC Quarterfinal matchup did not play out that way. The Cavaliers battled and went blow-for-blow with one of the premier College World Series favorites.
Freshman starter John Paone held Georgia Tech — a team averaging over 10 runs per game — to just one run in the first three innings. That lone run came on a solo shot from Kerce. And that slim Yellow Jacket lead was short lived.
In the top of the fourth inning, junior starter Tate McKee lost some command. Six of his first seven pitches were balls, including a leadoff walk to junior catcher Jake Weatherspoon. Coach James Ramsey then elected to pull him, as McKee appeared to be experiencing some discomfort on his throwing hand. In came junior reliever Dylan Loy — who surrendered a two-run home run to junior utilityman Antonio Perrotta.
Paone was unable to limit a retort from Georgia Tech. Paone allowed two walks and a hit, loading the bases with just one out. He then delivered a slider that did not slide enough — which Kerce promptly slashed to left field for a two-RBI single. The Yellow Jackets took a 4-2 lead and Paone departed the game after allowing four earned runs across 77 pitches in 3.2 innings. Freshman Thomas Stewart came in and escaped the frame.
Virginia responded yet again in the top of the fifth. Junior outfielder AJ Gracia hit a dribbler away from the shift, where no Georgia Tech defender had any chance of reaching the ball in time. Then junior second baseman Joe Tiroly blasted a two-run homer to tie the game. But the Cavaliers were not satisfied — junior first baseman Sam Harris walked and senior outfielder Harrison Didawick belted another two-run moonshot.
The Cavaliers held a 6-4 lead. But it was not built to last. Junior catcher Vahn Lackey — boasting ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors and First Team All-ACC status — authored one of many moments that make him a consensus top-five prospect in the 2026 MLB Draft. He crushed a solo home run to cut into the lead, but that was all the Yellow Jackets had for a retort.
In the sixth inning, Virginia kept adding to its lead — bullying Georgia Tech’s star reliever, graduate Mason Patel.
Junior shortstop Eric Becker ripped an opposite field single away from the shift, then Tiroly hit a single of his own that slid just under the third baseman’s glove. A subsequent sacrifice fly by Harris marked just the second run Patel has allowed since the start of March. The good times kept rolling for the Cavaliers in the bottom of the sixth as sophomore Max Stammel sat down the Yellow Jackets with just 13 pitches.
Then came the game-defining seventh inning.
Sophomore outfielder Zach Jackson singled, junior third baseman Noah Murray walked and Becker doubled to score Jackson. Virginia took an 8-5 lead. Then an RBI walk by Tiroly advanced the lead to 9-5.
That four-run lead seemed secure. All the Cavaliers needed was to record nine more outs. But instead, Virginia coughed up seven runs in the inning as Georgia Tech batted around. Stammel and Hartman were tagged for a blowup of epic proportions.
Adding salt to the wound, the Yellow Jackets smashed a pair of two-run homers in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Cavaliers did not have an answer this time. The game ended when Gracia grounded into a double play.
Virginia beat No. 16 seed Duke in the second round Wednesday but ultimately exited with a 1-1 record in the conference tournament. That should likely not change their current projection as a low No. 2 seed or high No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament — beating the Yellow Jackets is a tall task, after all.
The damage done is not to the Cavaliers’ postseason security, but to the morale of the team. Losing via bullpen implosion and a tsunami of home runs is certainly demoralizing. Virginia was a few plays away from vaulting itself up several spots in the postseason bracket with a season-defining victory but instead heads home to Charlottesville.
The Cavaliers now have a rare multi-day break. The next step is the NCAA Tournament Selection Show, during which Virginia will learn of its regional assignment Monday at 12 p.m. Before then, though, Coach Chris Pollard’s bunch must shake off a heartbreaker from Charlotte.
Read More
Virginia defeats Duke in ACC Tournament, set to take on Yellow Jackets
By Joe Schwiesow | Yesterday"I thought our team overcame some mistakes today. We didn’t play a perfect or clean game by any stretch, but we were tough enough to stay in the fight, and we were able to scratch across some runs there in the sixth and then [Weatherspoon] had a big swing. That was the difference.”
No. 8 Virginia rowing secures third straight second-place finish at ACC Championship
By Eleanor Lynch | 2 days agoVirginia is a lock for an at-large bid when the NCAA Selections announcement airs on Tuesday, May 20 at 5 p.m.
Virginia men conquer the 2026 ACC Outdoor Championship
By Caroline Wulff | 2 days agoThe meet was a strong showing for the Virginia men, proving a consistent ability to place high against the ACC’s best. The victory for the men would not have been possible without top marks from runners and throwers like Wachtel, Gardener and Nubbe combined with frequent top-five finishes from the rest of the team.
