news5 virginia jumps out to big early lead coasts to 9 5 series opening win at virginia tech
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#5 Virginia jumps out to big early lead, coasts to 9-5 series-opening win at Virginia Tech

Chris Graham
uva virginia tech baseball
Photo: UVA Athletics

A second-inning three-run homer by Ethan O’Donnell put fifth-ranked Virginia up 6-0, and the ‘Hoos coasted from there to a 9-5 win at Virginia Tech in the teams’ series opener on Friday night.

UVA (24-2, 8-2 ACC) jumped on Hokies ace Drue Hackenburg (1-4, 6.51 ERA) in the first. Jake Gelof started the uprising with an RBI double, and Kyle Teel’s sacrifice fly and an RBI single from Ethan Anderson pushed UVA’s lead to 3-0 in the top of the first.

Gelof, who was 3-for-5 with three RBI on the night, extended the Virginia lead to 8-0 in the fourth with a two-run double that scored O’Ferrall and O’Donnell.

Gelof has a team-high 40 RBI on the season.

Righthander Brian Edgington (5-0, 1.64 ERA) delivered his team-best third quality start of the season. He pitched six innings, did not allow a run and struck out eight batters.

Virginia Tech (15-10, 2-8 ACC) pushed two unearned runs across in the sixth inning to get on the scoreboard. The Hokies closed the gap to four in the eighth with a three-run homer by Bordy Donay.

The middle game of the three-game series is set for Saturday at 7 p.m. in Blacksburg. UVA will have lefthander Connelly Early (6-0) on the mound, and he will be opposed by righthander Griffin Green (1-1).

Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris has won 17 Virginia Press Association awards for his work as an investigative reporter, feature writer and columnist. Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination and Team of Destiny: Inside Virginia Basketball’s Run to the 2019 National Championship, both published in 2019, and The Worst Wrestling Pay-Per-View Ever, published in 2018. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to my YouTube page, youtube.com/chrisgrahamAFP. Want to reach Chris? Try [email protected].