UVA Sweeps Kansas State, Advances To The NCAA Baseball College World Series (6-8-24)
By: Xavier Jones
Headline Photo Credit: Arturo Jones-LMS Network
On this Saturday afternoon at Disharoon Park at Davenport Field in Charlottesville, VA, the Cavaliers were looking to capitalize off of their 7-4 victory over the Kansas State Wildcats. By doing so, UVA would punched their ticket to the NCAA Baseball College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. The stage was set for these two teams to give it all that they had, which meant one team would sweep and advance and the other could force a game 3. On the mound starting for Virginia was RHP Jay Woolfolk, and for K-State it was RHP Jackson Wentworth. UVA was considered the away team on their home field, so they were first at the plate to bat.
After two quick outs in the top of the 1st inning, Casey Saucke stepped to the plate, and on the first pitch, he hit a solo home run to give the Cavaliers a 1-0 lead. Next, Henry Ford would get a base-hit single followed by Jacob Ference drawing a walk. Harrison Didawick steps into the batter’s box and drills an RBI single to center field, increasing UVA’s lead to 2-0. The first batter for the Kansas State Wildcats was Brendan Jones, and he was able to draw a walk. After Jones stole second and third base, Kaelen Culpepper hit a sac fly to center field to cut the lead to 2-1. In the top of the 2nd inning, nothing materialized for UVA. K-State kept the hot bats going in the bottom of the 2nd with Nick English and David Bishop getting singles. Jaden Parsons would join the party by hitting a ground ball for an RBI and tying the game up at 2. The third and fourth innings for both teams saw little to no action from the offensive side, and the score remained tied at 2.
Going into the top of the 5th, Eric Becker was batting leadoff and managed to hit a double to left field. Following up was Bobby Whalen who hit an infield single, and then a bunt attempt by Griff O’Ferrall helped advance the runners and he also got on base to load them up. UVA’s Henry Ford gets the pitch he wants and hits a two-run RBI single, making the score 4-2. The Wildcats stayed within striking distance of the Cavaliers cutting their to 4-3 after a solo homer by Brendan Jones. Kyan Lodice would then hit a line drive triple to center field, but to no avail, as he would be stranded on third base. In the 6th and 7th innings, there was another moment where both teams’ bats had cooled off.
In the top of the 8th inning, Henry Godbout walked and gave the Cavaliers a baserunner to start the inning. Next, Eric Becker would hit an RBI double to center field and increase UVA’s lead to 5-3. During K-State’s next at bat, Kyan Lodice would hit a solo home run to bring the score to 5-4 going into the 9th inning. In the top half of the inning, the Cavaliers would begin to rally to create some distance between the two. Starting with Ethan Anderson, who got a base hit to center field. This would be followed by an infield single by Casey Saucke. The hot bats would continue after Jacob Ference hit a 2-run RBI triple to center field, making the score 7-4. After walking the next two UVA batters to load the bases, pinch hitter Luke Hanson, steps to the plate and rips a 3-run RBI double to left field, increasing the lead to 10-4. In the bottom of the 9th, the Wildcats couldn’t muster up any type of offense and the game ends on a strikeout.
Ball game! Final score 10-4! The Virginia Cavaliers win the Charlottesville Super Regionals and they’ve punched their ticket to the NCAA Baseball College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
