Photo courtesy of Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics Communications
Gelof Leads Virginia to Dominant 24-9 Victory over Cornell
Jake Gelof could not have chosen a better day for the best performance of his collegiate career.
The sophomore third basemen celebrated his birthday by hitting a pair of three-run home runs and driving in eight runs to lead Virginia to a 24-9 victory over Cornell on Friday afternoon at Disharoon Park.
After putting 14 runs on the board against VMI on Wednesday, the Cavaliers showed that they still had plenty in the tank as they began the first of a three-game series against Cornell this weekend.
The Big Red scored two runs in the top of the first, but their lead didn't last for long. Griff O'Ferrall started the inning with a walk and later scored on a Devin Ortiz single, before Gelof hit his first three-run home run of the game, scoring Ortiz and Kyle Teel.
Cornell scored again in the top of the second, but the Hoos responded with another four-run inning. O'Ferrall started the inning with a walk again and scored on an error. Then, in a convincing case of déjà vu, Gelof blasted another three-run home run over the wall in left center, again scoring Ortiz and Teel to make it 8-3.
After allowing three runs in the first two innings, two of them earned, Nate Savino settled in and delivered an incredible performance, striking out the final eight batters he faced and finishing with a career-high 11 strikeouts in just four innings pitched.
UVA tacked on two runs in the bottom of the third to make it 10-3 as Ortiz brought in Max Cotier with a sacrifice fly and Gelof picked up another RBI as he doubled down the left field line to score O'Ferrall.
After a scoreless fourth inning, the only scoreless inning of the game for Virginia, Cornell put together a big inning in the top of the fifth as Jacob Hodorovich replaced Savino and gave up four runs, all on singles. The Big Red cut it to a 10-7 game, but the Cavaliers quickly put to rest any ideas of a Cornell comeback in the bottom of the inning.
Virginia loaded the bases to start the inning and then Alex Tappen cleared them on a single, as Gelof and Colin Tuft came home and Chris Newell also scored as Cornell committed an error on the play. Casey Saucke then singled to bring in Tappen. Saucke stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch, before stealing home in an incredible sequence. Griff O'Ferrall singled to score Cotier and then scored on a Gelof sacrifice fly, giving Gelof his eighth RBI of the day.
After Cornell had threatened to make it a ball game, Virginia responded with a seven-run inning to make it a 17-7 game. The Cavaliers would tack on two in the sixth inning on a Chris Newell solo homer and an RBI double by Freshman Justin Rubin. UVA scored three in the seventh as Saucke hit a two-RBI triple and Cotier singled to bring in Saucke. Finally, Virginia scored two unearned runs in the bottom of the eighth to give the Hoos a 17-run lead. Cornell scored twice in the top of the ninth, but Joseph Miceli ultimately closed it out with a strikeout as Virginia won 24-9.
The Cavaliers have scored 38 runs in their last two games and have outscored their opponents 54-12 through the first five games of the season. Virginia (5-0) is back in action in game 2 against Cornell on Saturday at noon at Disharoon Park.
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