UVA Baseball: ‘Hoos take series opener with #4 NC State

UVA Baseball (16-10, 6-4 ACC) held on for a 4-3 victory over No. 4 NC State (25-2, 8-2 ACC) in the opening game of a three-game ACC road series at Doak Field at Dail Park on Friday night (March 29). The Cavaliers now own the league’s longest win streak at seven games.

The Cavalier offense produced 12 hits with eight of the nine UVA batters recording a base knock. Freshman Zack Gelof (Rehoboth Beach, Del.) went 3-for-5, scored the first run of the game and plated the game’s third run with a two-out single in the top of the third. He extended his hit streak to 15 games and has now reached base in all 26 games this season.

Virginia received RBI base hits from Alex Tappen (Lower Gwynedd, Pa.), Cameron Simmons (Royersford, Pa.) and Nate Eikhoff (Bristow, Va.). The double by Eikhoff in the top of the fifth inning that drove in Nic Kent (Charlottesville, Va.) proved to be the game-winning run.

NC State made it a one-run game in the ninth inning thanks to a two-run, pinch-hit homer by Luca Tresh, his second long ball of the season. Kyle Whitten (Manassas, Va.) did not allow another base runner after the homer, sitting down the next three NC State batters to record his fourth save of the year.

Starting pitcher Griff McGarry (Portola Valley, Calif.) was lights out early, striking out four-straight to start the game and five of the first six batters he faced. The sophomore right-hander did not factor in the decision, tossing 4.2 innings and striking out eight, one shy of his career high.

Sophomore Andrew Abbott (Halifax, Va.) ended a fifth-inning threat by striking out the final batter of the frame, limiting the NC State damage to a run. Abbott hung zeros for the next three innings before coming out after allowing a lead-off double in the top of the ninth. He finished the day with five strikeouts in 3.1 innings of work and was credited with his second win of the season.

In addition to Gelof, Brendan Rivoli (Douglassville, Pa.) and Tanner Morris (Crozet, Va.) rounded out the trio Virginia multi-hit performers. Rivoli racked up his team-best, 12th multi-hit game with a 2-for-4 performance at the plate. Morris reached base four times and went 2-for-3 with a run scored and a pair of walks.

The series will continue on Saturday (March 30) with the middle game at 6:30 p.m. Virginia will send right-hander Noah Murdock to the mound and he will be opposed by righty Reid Johnston. The game will air live on ACC Network Extra and can be heard exclusively on VirginiaSports.com