Cavaliers Now

Former UVA Baseball Star Pavin Smith Hits Three Home Runs in Consecutive At-Bats

Matt Newton

Pavin Smith hit three home runs in consecutive at-bats and drove in eight RBI to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 12-6 victory over the Houston Astros.
Pavin Smith hit three home runs in consecutive at-bats and drove in eight RBI to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 12-6 victory over the Houston Astros. / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

What a night for Pavin Smith.

Former Virginia baseball star Pavin Smith singlehandedly powered the Arizona Diamondbacks to a big road win over the Houston Astros on Sunday night, hitting three home runs in consecutive bats and driving in eight total runs. Smith hit a three-run home run in the second inning, a grand slam in the third, and a solo shot in the fifth.

Before Sunday, Smith had never hit multiple home runs in a single game. He accomplished that feat in his first two at-bats and then added another one just for good measure. It started in the top of the second, as Smith blasted a pitch from Justin Verlander off of the right field foul pole for a three-run home run.

It didn't take long for Smith to again punish Verlander, a three-time Cy Young Award Winner and two-time World Series Champion, as Smith took a pitch the opposite way to left-center field for a grand slam. Fellow former Wahoo Jake McCarthy was on base and scored on each of Smith's first two home runs. The seven RBI Smith produced in the first three innings set an Arizona Diamondbacks franchise record.

Finally, in the fifth inning, Smith hammered a 98 mph fastball deep over the wall in right field for a solo home run, his third long ball in as many plate appearances. Smith became just the third Diamondback in franchise history to drive in at least eight runs in a game.

While Smith's performance was certainly historic, you actually don't have to go back that far to find the most recent instance that a former UVA baseball star hit three home runs in a game. Just a few years ago in 2021, former Wahoo Chris Taylor hit three home runs and had six RBI to help the Los Angeles Dodgers stave off elimination in Game 5 of the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves.

Smith played at Virginia from 2015 to 2017 and was instrumental in UVA's run to winning the 2015 National Championship. As a true freshman, Smith led the Cavaliers in hits, drove in seven RBI in the NCAA Tournament, and hit a game-tying two-run home run and the go-ahead RBI single against Vanderbilt in Game 3 of the College World Series Finals.

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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.