Jake Gelof didn’t go deep, didn’t even get a hit. Fifth-ranked Virginia still scored eight runs in a Game 1 win over Wake Forest.
Nate Savino picked up his fourth win and turned in his fourth-straight quality start after pitching 6.1 innings and allowing only two runs in the 8-2 win on Friday night.
The lefthander struck out five batters and limited the NCAA’s No. 5 offense to four hits.
Virginia (21-1, 6-1 ACC) won its third-straight ACC weekend opener. The Cavaliers are winners of seven straight games and are 6-1 in the ACC to start the year for the first time since 2011.
Freshman Griff O’Ferrall went 4-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI, his second four-hit performance of the season.
UVA jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third inning, scoring two runs on a wild pitch. O’Ferrall came around to score on a pitch that bounced in front of the plate and got away from the catcher. The throw to get O’Ferrall at the plate sailed over the pitcher’s head and allowed Max Cotier to score from second. UVA improved to 19-0 when scoring first this season.
Grad student Alex Tappen gave UVA a 3-0 advantage with a solo shot to left field, his fifth homer of the season. It was his 19th career homer, the most of any active Cavalier.
Wake Forest made it a one-run game on a Brendan Tinsman two-out, two-RBI single in the fourth inning.
The game-changing inning came in the fifth when UVA sent eight batters to the plate and posted four runs. Two came around on an RBI single from Casey Saucke, his second hit of the day. Colin Tuft was credited with an RBI ground out and O’Ferrall delivered a two-out RBI single to right that scored Cotier.
Saucke extended his hit streak to 20 games with a single in the fourth inning. He’s the fourth Cavalier since 2000 to hit in 20-straight games in a single season.
Making his fourth appearance of the year, Matt Wyatt faced the minimum over 2.2 innings pitched and struck out two batters. He was the beneficiary of a sliding catch by Saucke in right field in which he doubled up the runner at first base. It was the first outfield assist of the season for the Cavaliers.
Postgame: Virginia coach Brian O’Connor
“I’ll start by saying, in this league, to win on Friday night is difficult to do on the road. Nate Savino was outstanding. I know he had a few walks but he managed around those walks and it was just ground ball after ground ball and I thought he was candidly, a pitch away from having a just a spectacular outing. We played great defense, we took advantage of some opportunities. Griff O’Ferrall was great, swung the bat well all day and we were opportunistic enough on offense. That sixth inning was big, to put up that four-spot was the ballgame and it gave us a little bit of separation. I thought Matt Wyatt looked very good. I know he had a walk there but I thought he was in complete command and shut the game down for us.”
Game 2
The series against Wake Forest continues on Saturday with the middle game of the three-game set. The Cavaliers will have lefty Brian Gursky (5-0) on the mound and he will be opposed by fellow southpaw Josh Hartle (3-2). First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Story by Chris Graham
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