Jake Gelof only had one home run on Tuesday. Something must be wrong.
The sophomore’s D1-leading 13th homer was one of two for the third-ranked Virginia Cavaliers in Tuesday’s 15-3 win over Towson.
The two dingers give the ‘Hoos (20-1) 38 home runs at Disharoon Park on the season, tying the single-season program record for homers at the home park, and it’s not even April yet.
(Actually, still more than a week to go in March.)
The 20-1 start for Virginia is the best through 21 games in program history.
Freshman Justin Rubin also homered, and the four froshes in the starting lineup combined for 11 of the 16 UVA hits. Griff O’Ferrall finished the day 3-for-4 with four RBI. Colin Tuft and Rubin each had three hits, while Casey Saucke added a pair of base knocks in the contest.
Saucke extended his hit streak to 19 games, already the longest by a UVA freshman in the last 22 years. It’s the longest hit streak by any Cavalier since Dan Grovatt strung together 19 straight games with a hit to start the 2009 season.
Virginia scored six runs in the first inning, on a collection of three hits. After three consecutive walks, Alex Tappen plated the first run on a sacrifice fly, his 15th RBI in the last six games. RBI singles from Saucke, Tuft and O’Ferrall highlighted the big inning.
Gelof led off the second inning with his fourth home run in the last three games. Of the 42 UVA home runs this season, it was just the third to lead off an inning. He moved into a tie for 10th with Pavin Smith (2017) for the most homers in a single-season in UVA history.
Virginia tacked on three more runs in the second to open up a 10-0 advantage; two scored on a two-run double by O’Ferrall.
Rubin keyed a five-run rally in the sixth with a two-run homer over the left field wall. He’s the fourth UVA freshman to leave the ballpark this season. Saucke plated the first run of the inning with a triple to right field and scored on a single by Tuft.
Six Virginia pitchers did not give up an earned run in the contest. Starter Matthew Buchanan fanned four batters in four innings. The Cavaliers pieced together the remainder of the game with Alex Greene, Jacob Hodorovich, Mason Dillow, Devin Ortiz and Avery Mabe who each threw an inning.
Postgame: Virginia coach Brian O’Connor
“The offense, I don’t know what to say. To come out and have 10 runs after two innings. I told the team after the game, sometimes you can take winning for granted because it doesn’t ever come as easy as maybe it appears. Even in that first inning there was some bloops that dropped in for us, I think three of them, we scored six runs on three hits. That was a result of our guy being patient at the plate not swinging at things off the off the plate and certainly kind of put it out of reach after it after two innings. I thought Buck (Matthew Buchanan) did another great job, another quality start for us and it was good to see all those guys get some work in out of the bullpen. I thought Colin Tuft was really good. Colin hasn’t played much in the last five or six games, some other guys have stepped up and done the job and he played a lot early, and he got the opportunity to start today in left field and had three great at bats and was aggressive. It’s just great to see that on a day that maybe (someone like) Devin Ortiz doesn’t perform, and there’s going to be days they’re not going to perform, that there’s other guys, even these rookies, these first years that are stepping up and delivering big hits and doing a nice job.”
Up next
Virginia will hit the road this weekend for a three-game series at Wake Forest beginning Friday (March 25). First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6 p.m. while Saturday’s is slated for 4 p.m. and the finale will begin at 1 p.m. on Sunday. All three games will air on ACCNX.
Story by Chris Graham
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