Junior Nate Savino pitched a complete game shutout and sophomore Jake Gelof hit two home runs in a 5-0 win over Duke at Durham Athletic Park on Friday.
The nine-inning, complete game shutout was the first by a UVA pitcher since Derek Casey against Virginia Tech in 2018. Savino needed just 103 pitches and struck out seven batters.
“Nate Savino was outstanding today,” Virginia coach Brian O’Connor said. “To throw a complete game with no walks and a shutout is just so rare in college baseball. He was in complete command of the game. That was great to see because to compete at the elite level and in this league, you’ve got to have somebody who can go out on Friday night and give you the chance to win and pitch deep into the ballgame. He was terrific.”
Savino scattered five hits and did not allow a Duke (8-6, 0-1 ACC) batter to reach second base. He finished his outing by retiring the final 10 batters he faced. He has now won three-straight starts and has both quality starts produced by UVA starting pitchers this season.
The multi-homer game for Gelof was his third of the season and upped his season home run total to nine. He was part of all five runs that UVA (13-0, 1-0 ACC) scored and finished his day at the plate 3-for-4 with three runs scored and four RBI.
Gelof has 33 RBI in 13 games this season and the four-RBI performance marks the fifth time this season he’s driven in four or more runs in a game.
Gelof opened the scoring with three-run homer in the fourth, plating Kyle Teel and Devin Ortiz. Teel led the inning off with a double off the left field wall and Ortiz reached on a hit by pitch.
With two outs in the sixth, Gelof blasted a 1-0 pitch off the snorting bull sign in left field.
Freshman Casey Saucke went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles and extended his hit streak to 11 games.
“We were opportunistic offensively,” O’Connor said. “We did enough to get a couple guys on, and Gelof does what he does and hit a three-run home run and then got another home run later. (Alex) Tappen put a good swing on that ball and almost hit one out as well.
“It was a really well played college baseball game. We just came up with a couple more clutch hits.”
Game 2 of the three-game ACC series will be televised live on ACC Network on Saturday at 4 p.m. The Cavaliers will have lefthander Brian Gursky (3-0) on the mound and he will be opposed by fellow southpaw Luke Fox.
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