One day after scoring 22 runs on 20 hits, the UVA bats went quiet again and it resulted in the Cavaliers losing their first ACC series of the season. Virginia (9-5, 1-2 ACC) suffered a 6-3 loss to Boston College (6-6, 2-1 ACC) in the series finale on Sunday afternoon at Disharoon Park.
After dropping the series opener on Friday 7-4, the Cavaliers bounced back on Saturday with by far their best offensive game of the season to even the series on Saturday. Unfortunately for the Hoos, their offense reverted to the form which was on display on Friday, and for much of this season so far, in the rubber match on Sunday.
After a scoreless first frame, Boston College drew first blood as UVA starter Joe Colucci gave up an RBI single to Esteban Garcia. The Cavaliers responded with a run in the bottom half of the second as Aidan Teel hit a leadoff double, moved to third on a bunt, and then scored on a sacrifice fly by James Nunnallee.
Colucci got into more trouble in the third. After retiring the first two batters, he gave up two singles and then a three-run home run to left field by Jack Toomey to put Boston College back in front. The Eagles tacked on two more runs in the top of the fourth as two unearned runs came home on a fielding error by Luke Hanson to make it 6-1.
Virginia got two runs back in the bottom of the fourth as Henry Ford hit a leadoff single and then Aidan Teel was hit by a pitch. Ford scored on a Trey Wells sacrifice fly and then Nunnallee recorded his second RBI of the day on a single up the middle to score Teel. That made it 6-3 in favor of the Eagles, but the way the Cavaliers had swung the bat the previous game and so far on Sunday, it seemed that this game was still certainly within reach for Virginia.
The UVA pitching staff did its part for the rest of the game. Kevin Jaxel stranded two runners on base in the fifth, retired the side in order in the sixth, and then worked around a one-out walk to post another zero in the seventh. Matt Lanzendorfer pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning and then retired the first batter of the ninth before Jack O’Connor came in and retired the next two batters.
So with the Cavalier pitchers doing their part in the back half of the game, the deficit remained just three runs for the last five innings. During that same stretch, Virginia had at least one baserunner in every inning, but failed to score a single run. Henry Godbout hit a one-out double in the fifth, but was stranded on third. Harrison Didawick hit a one-out single in the sixth, but was caught stealing to end the inning. Two runners walked in the seventh, but UVA again failed to capitalize. In the eighth, Henry Ford hit a leadoff single, but Virginia did nothing after that.
In the bottom of the ninth, Nunnallee and Jackson Sirois were both hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second and the tying run at the plate with no outs. Boston College made a pitching change, Eric Becker hit into a double play, and then Godbout hit a fly out to end the game.
On Saturday, UVA’s 2-3-4 batters went 12 for 15 with 12 RBI. On Sunday, Godbout, Arroyo, and Ford went 3 for 13 with zero RBI. The Cavaliers went 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position and 1 for 18 with runners on base. Virginia’s only three runs were driven in by freshmen. Joe Colucci took the loss for UVA on the mound.
After playing eight games in a row at home, Virginia will now play its next four contests on the road, starting with a neutral-site game against Maryland on Tuesday evening at Virginia Credit Union Stadium, home of the Fredericksburg Nationals, in Fredericksburg, Virginia. First pitch is set for 5:35pm and the game will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.
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