Virginia (28-21, 11-15 ACC) earned a doubleheader split on Friday (May 10) against No. 5 Louisville (40-11, 19-7 ACC) thanks to a 10-2 victory in the nightcap. The Cardinals took game one, 15-7 earlier in the afternoon.
Due to inclement weather in the forecast the two teams will now play the final game of the series at 11 a.m. on Saturday (May 11). The game was originally scheduled for 4 p.m. Senior Day ceremonies will take place at 10:40 a.m., gates to the ballpark will open at 10 a.m.
Game One – Louisville 15, Virginia 7
Despite two home runs to its credit, Virginia was outslugged by the hot-hitting Cardinals in a series-opening loss. Seven of the 15 Louisville runs came by virtue of the long ball.
After Virginia captured the game’s initial lead by plating two runs in bottom of the first, Louisville responded in the top of the third with five runs, four on a grand slam by Justin Lavey. It marked the sixth time this season a Cavalier opponent has scored five or more runs in a single inning.
The Cavaliers did some mashing of their own and closed the gap to three on a three-run homer by Zack Gelof (Rehoboth Beach, Del.) in the bottom of the third inning. It was part of a 2-for-4, four-RBI effort at the plate for the first year. He also swiped his 15th base of the season, the third most ever by a UVA freshman, passing Jarrett Parker’s mark of 14 set in 2008.
Sophomore Alex Tappen (Lower Gwynedd, Pa.) got the Cavaliers within two when he led off the fourth inning with his third home run of the season, to make the score 8-6.
Louisville was able to create separation with eight of the next nine runs in the contest. The decisive blow came off the bat of Tyler Fitzgerald in the top of the eighth, a three-run homer to make the score 15-7.
Louisville starting pitcher Reid Detmers was credited with his 10th win of the season. He came into the contest with the ACC’s lowest ERA (2.08) and surrendered a season-high six earned runs in 5.1 innings pitched. He struck out seven Cavaliers, upping his season total to 127.
Brendan Rivoli (Douglassville, Pa.) and Nic Kent (Charlottesville, Va.) each put forth multi-hit games for the Cavaliers.
Game Two – Virginia 10, Louisville 2
Virginia starting pitcher Mike Vasil (Wellesley, Mass.) turned in his best start of the season, pitching into the eighth inning and allowing two runs on five hits. He was lifted after a Cavalier fielding error to lead off eighth. Prior to the miscue, Vasil had retired seven-straight batters. The freshman right-hander fanned four batters and walked two to earn his second win of the season.
Louisville’s offense looked poised to pick up where they left off in the first game with a first inning run to capture the initial lead. The Cavaliers responded with eight runs over their next three turns at the plate.
Virginia took the lead for good in the bottom of the first on a two-out, two RBI single from Jack Weiller (Katonah, N.Y.). The Cavaliers rallied for four runs in the second inning, aided by a Louisville throwing error. An RBI groundout from Rivoli, a sacrifice fly from Gelof and a two-out single from Nate Eikhoff (Bristow, Va.) highlighted the scoring in the frame.
Junior Cayman Richardson (Mechanicsville, Va.) extended the Cavalier lead to 8-1 in the bottom of the third with his first career home run, a solo shot over the left centerfield wall. Richardson had a monster night, finishing 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI.
From the leadoff position, Tanner Morris (Crozet, Va.) put together his seventh, three-hit game of the season, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. The sophomore has reached base safely in nine-straight games.
Reliever Andrew Abbott (Halifax, Va.) locked down the back end of the game with two scoreless frames and four strikeouts. He stranded a runner on first in the eighth and left two more Cardinals on base in the ninth to seal the Cavalier victory.
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