A season that started 26-3 ended with a thud, with Virginia blowing a 6-0 lead and a two-homer day from Jake Gelof, ultimately falling to Coastal Carolina, 7-6, on Sunday in the Greenville Regional.
The loss ends the 2022 season for Virginia, which had rallied from an 11-14 start to make it to Omaha a year ago, but had a sort of inverse 2022, finishing 13-16 after the 26-3 start.
Gelof posted two- and three-run bombs, the latter giving the ‘Hoos (39-19) that 6-0 lead in the fifth.
The blasts give Gelof a pair of UVA single-season records – for homers (21) and RBIs (81).
Starter Jake Berry rolled through the first four, allowing just three baserunners – two hits and a first-inning walk – none reaching second.
But suddenly in the fifth, he couldn’t find the zone, walking the first two hitters, giving up an RBI single to Kameron Guangorena, then issuing one more walk before Brian O’Connor lifted him for Dylan Bowers.
Bowers would have his own issues, walking Eric Brown, then hitting Tyler Johnson with a 1-2 pitch, both of which forced in runs, cutting the 6-0 deficit to 6-3.
Paul Kosanovich, the third pitcher of the inning, would induce an inning-ending double play to get out of that threat, but Coastal Carolina (38-19) would tie it in the sixth, on a solo homer by Nick Lucky and a two-run shot by Graham Brown.
Virginia had its chances in the late innings. Alex Tappen, who had four hits on the day, led off the seventh with a single, but didn’t get any further. And freshman Griff O’Ferrall broke an 0-for-15 slump with a leadoff single in the top of the ninth, and was sacrificed to second by Kyle Teel, ahead of a Tappen flyout, an intentional walk to Gelof, and a flyout to center by Casey Saucke.
Austin White led off the bottom of the ninth with a solid single to center off UVA reliever Matt Wyatt (0-2), and he reached second on a sacrifice by Eric Brown.
O’Connor opted to intentionally walk Tyler Johnson to set up a possible force play on the infield.
That brought up Chris Rowan, who singled a 2-2 Wyatt pitch up the middle to easily plate White from second.
Story by Chris Graham
Share
Chris Graham
