Cavaliers Now

Did Virginia Baseball Right the Ship With Series Sweep Over No. 20 Stanford?

Matt Newton

Virginia Athletics

Following a five-game losing streak that threatened to derail this Virginia baseball season for good, the Cavaliers were in desperate need for a good weekend. Having drawn dead in a pair of mid-week losses to Richmond and Liberty sandwiched around a three-game sweep at home to Duke, the Hoos came into this weekend's series against No. 20 Stanford in as close to a "must-win situation" as a college baseball team can get in the month of March.

There is still plenty of baseball to be played this year, and thanks to what Virginia did this weekend, the 2025 season may still hold some of the success that seemed to be destined for this team with sky-high preseason expectations.

In game 1 on Thursday, Jay Woolfolk gave the Cavaliers a quality start, shaking off a three-run second inning by putting up zeroes on the board in each of the next four innings. The UVA offense, meanwhile, scored twice in the bottom of the first on a two-run single by Henry Godbout, added a run on an RBI single by Harrison Didawick in the fourth to tie the game, and two more in the fifth as James Nunnallee hit a two-run double to put Virginia in front. The dam burst for the Cavalier bats in the bottom of the sixth, as Aidan Teel hit an RBI double, Eric Becker hit an RBI triple and then scored on a wild pitch, and then Chris Arroyo smashed a two-run home run to right field to make it 10-3.

The UVA bullpen allowed the Cardinal to score two runs in the seventh and three in the eighth, but the Cavaliers managed to come away with an 11-8 victory to claim the series opener.

Friday's game 2 began with Tomas Valincius giving up a three-run home run to Stanford's Jimmy Nati in the top of the first inning and the Cardinal scored two more runs in the top of the third to take a quick 5-0 lead. Virginia got one back in the bottom of the third on an RBI single from Henry Ford and then scored three runs in the fourth on an RBI bunt single by Luke Hanson and then a two-run double for Aidan Teel.

Stanford's Brady Reynolds hit a solo home run in the top of the fifth, but the Hoos responded with a pair of RBI singles from Jacob Ference and Chone James in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game up at 6-6. After a scoreless sixth, Virginia blew the game wide open in the seventh by pushing six runs across the plate. Chris Arroyo got things started with a solo home run and then James Nunnallee hit an RBI single, Hanson hit an RBI double, and then Eric Becker deposited a pitch off the clubhouse in left-center for a three-run home run that was essentially the dagger as Virginia went on to win 13-7.

The finale on Saturday was the most dramatic of the series. Stanford again took the early lead, plating three runs against Evan Blanco in the second and then another in the third on a solo home run from Nati to make it 4-0. It took Virginia just half an inning to equalize, as Becker delivered a two-run single and then scored on a double-play, which was then followed by a Jacob Ference RBI single to tie the game. After a scoreless fourth and fifth frames, Virginia took its first lead of the game as Ference scored on a wild pitch. The UVA bullpen and defense were shaky again though, as Stanford scored three runs in the seventh on a combination of an error, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch. A Stanford error allowed Virginia to get one back in the eighth, but the Cardinal pushed the lead back to 8-6 with an RBI single in the top of the ninth.

Not to be denied, Virginia strung together a rally in the bottom of the ninth. Luke Hanson hit a leadoff single, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and then scored on a Becker RBI single. Becker came around to score after singles from Ford and Godbout to tie the game at 8-8. It seemed Jacob Ference had delivered the walk-off hit as he laced a line drive into the gap in left center, but Stanford's Tatum Marsh made an outstanding diving catch to rob Ference of the game-winner. Virginia held Stanford off the board in the top of the 10th and then the Hoos walked it off in the bottom of the 10th as James Nunnallee got aboard with a leadoff single and then, after the next two batters were retired, Aidan Teel ripped a two-out hit into right field and Nunnallee raced around the bases, sliding in head first just ahead of the tag to win the game 9-8 and complete the series sweep.

There weren't many teams in college baseball who needed a sweep more than Virginia this weekend. The hope now is that this outcome will breathe new life into the Cavaliers as the calendar turns to April. This gets things pointed in the right direction, but UVA still has a lot of work to do. The pitching is still inconsistent, particularly out of the bullpen. The defense is still committing too many errors. Maybe a weekend like this will jump start the Virginia offense to more consistently score double-digit runs, something that has happened five times in 12 ACC games, but the pitching and defense must come along too if the Hoos are going to fully get back on track.

With these three big wins, Virginia is now 15-11 overall and 6-6 in ACC play. Up next, the Cavaliers will host Old Dominion on Tuesday at 6pm ET at Disharoon Park (ACCNX) before traveling down to Raleigh for a three-game series at NC State.

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.