Generally, a 2-1 weekend series is a decent start to a season, but when you’re UVA Baseball, ranked #2 in the preseason, 3-0 looks better.
Considering the loss was a 5-4 walk-off in the bottom of the 11th inning, the pollsters kept UVA at the second spot nationally. The Cavaliers will look to improve the outcome this weekend in the Karbach Round Rock Classic in Round Rock, Texas, when they face #7 Oregon State in the Friday night opener, then Minnesota and Oklahoma on Saturday and Sunday.
The ‘Hoos are scheduled to face George Washington on Wednesday, weather-permitting.
Stellar starting pitching paces ‘Hoos
Most of the preseason hype surrounded the Virginia offense that finished 2024 among the top 11 teams in eight offensive categories including the top five in hits, batting average and slugging percentage. Seven players from that team are back in the lineup.
Apparently the Virginia hurlers wanted to grab some of the limelight as well.
Jay Woolfolk was solid in his season-opening start against a sound Michigan club, going 4.2 innings and giving up two earned runs off six hits. The righthander struck out five, walked one and landed 67.5% of his offerings in the zone. He left the game tied at two, in a contest the Hoos would lose 5-4 in extra innings. Woolfolk did not factor into the decision.
Sophomore Bryson Moore was no slouch in his own right, not allowing a hit for 5.2 innings in his start against Villanova.
With one out in the top of the sixth inning, Moore hit ‘Nova shortstop Tyler Shaw, followed by a single for leadoff man Austin Lemon. Moore secured the second out of the frame, but was lifted for Drew Koenen, who promptly allowed an RBI single, charged to Moore for his lone run allowed, getting out of the inning on a spectacular CF to 3B to 2B to 1B for the out play.
“That was a really high-quality start that we needed,” UVA coach Brian O’Connor said of Moore’s effort.
Moore did not allow an extra-base hit, sat down six Wildcats via the strikeout, gave up two base on balls and plunked a batter.
O’Connor noted that for the first weekend series of the campaign, extending a starter is not normal, but the Hoos need some depth to get the win.
“We used a lot of pitchers [Friday] and we needed some length out of [Moore]. Opening weekend, to get somebody to pitch into the sixth inning is challenging, and he stepped up.”
Six innings into the 2025 season, Tomas Valincius, the Sunday starter on opening weekend, maintains an unblemished ERA. Not sure that his ERA will remain at that level, but there is a lot to like about the 6-2, 210-pound freshman southpaw.
His skipper was impressed with his shutout performance against Rice in the tournament finale.
“Valincius was really, really good,” O’Connor declared. “I don’t know what his velocity was, but I imagine it was up to 95-96. Really good changeup, really good slider.”
He fanned 10, had a 77.2% strike rate, faced 20 hitters, two above the minimum, and ironically, the worst part of his game was 100% of the hits he allowed went for extra bases – of course, the sole hit Valincius surrendered was a double.
“He didn’t look like a rookie out there, he was in complete control,” added O’Connor.
In 15.4 innings, Woolfolk, Moore and Valincius yielded just two extra-base hits. Overall, the three Cavalier starters came out of the weekend with a combined ERA of 1.75, an opponent batting average of .143 and a strike rate of 69.2%.
Becker, Nunnallee, Teel & Ference shine in sunny Ponce
After his skipper said he had proved to his teammates he was a “high-caliber player” freshman James Nunnallee did not disappoint. He scored three runs off four hits, including a double and added an RBI. The rookie also recorded the second lowest strikeout percentage with 0.15 rate (2K/13 AB).
Coach O’Connor offered some high praise for the freshman after the Villanova game. “Jimmy Nunnallee in the nine hole gave us a spark with that double in the right-field corner. He seemed to be locked in all night.”
Nunnallee’s three runs tied Luke Hanson for the most runs scored by the ‘Hoos in the tournament.
Eric Becker led the offense with six hits in 12 AB, had a team high .667 slugging percentage, led the Hoos with two extra base hits and was second with a .533 on base percentage (OBP).
Aiden Teel batted .364 for the weekend, the third highest on the club. He connected on four hits in 11 at bats, including a double, slugged a solid .455 and tied Hanson going 2-for-2 on stolen base attempts.
Catcher Jacob Ference collected three hits in eight at bats but recorded a .615 OBP with three HBP and two walks. He was second on the club in batting with a .375 and second with a .500 slugging percentage.
Becker, Ference and Nunnallee also produced three of UVA’s nine stolen bases.
Following the Rice game, O’Connor specifically highlighted the play of Ference, Teel and Henry Ford.
“The middle of our lineup, all three swung the bats really well,” the coach said.
The 4.6 runs per game will not make O’Connor do summersaults; that said, considering that these four players combined for a .386 batting average for the Puerto Rico Challenge, a .481 OBP and a .500 slugging percentage, that’s not a bad weekend.
Arroyo debuts
1B/DH and LHP Chris Arroyo made his UVA Baseball debut Friday night in Ponce, Puerto Rico, to the delight of the large contingent of family and friends in the attendance.
Arroyo went 2-for-4, scored a run with a 2-RBI homer, collected three RBI overall and reached on a walk. Coach O’Connor noted why the coaching staff are high on the junior’s capability.
“Chris swung the bat really well, was on the barrel every time up, his two-run home run was a big one, and I’m really proud of him. You can see after one game how much confidence we have in him.”
The native son grinded somewhat against Villanova and Rice but still managed two base-on-balls, a stolen base and pitched 1.1 innings of scoreless baseball against the Wildcats surrendering a hit, a walk, a hit by pitch while fanning two.
Lots of special things to come from this player.
Overall, a solid weekend that gives the coaching staff an opportunity to focus on some little things that made the difference over the weekend between good technique and bad, good approach and not so good and a week to study film, get into the cage and on the bump and make adjustments.
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