Virginia to Face Florida State in Elimination Game at College World Series

After both lost in walk-offs on Friday, the Cavaliers and Seminoles will battle to keep their seasons alive on Sunday afternoon in Omaha

Griff O'Ferrall tags out a runner during the Virginia baseball game against Florida State at Disharoon Park. / Virginia Athletics

For the first time in the history of college baseball, the first two games of the College World Series both ended on walk-offs. The unfortunate losers of those two games will now battle each other with their seasons on the line, as No. 12 Virginia (46-16) will face ACC rival and No. 8 seed Florida State (47-16) in an elimination game at the 2024 College World Series on Sunday at 2pm (ESPN) at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha.

See score updates and live analysis for Virginia vs. Florida State in the College World Series here: Virginia vs. Florida State Live Updates | NCAA Baseball College World Series

Both teams lost in heartbreaking fashion on Friday, as the Cavaliers were walked off by No. 4 North Carolina 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth on an RBI single by Vance Honeycutt, while the Seminoles had leads of 9-4 and 11-7 over No. 1 seed Tennessee and led 11-8 in the ninth, but the Volunteers scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth to steal a 12-11 victory.

The two brutal defeats drop the Hoos and Noles into the loser's bracket, where they'll have to win their next four games in a row in order to advance to the CWS finals.

READ MORE: Brian O'Connor Explains Virginia's Decision to Pitch to Honeycutt in Loss to UNC

It'll be another All-ACC matchup for UVA in Sunday's elimination game. Florida State leads the all-time series with Virginia 61-34, but this will be the first-ever meeting between these two programs in the NCAA Tournament. FSU and UVA played once this season in pool play at the ACC Tournament, with the Seminoles posting a 12-7 victory to eliminate the Cavaliers. Virginia hit four home runs in that game, three of which came as part of a five-run seventh inning. Unfortunately for the Hoos, that explosion came in the bottom half of an inning that began with Florida State scoring seven runs in the top half.

2024 College World Series Score Updates and Schedule | NCAA Baseball Tournament

Joe Savino got the start for the Cavaliers in that game and allowed four earned runs in 4.2 innings before turning the ball over to the UVA bullpen, which allowed eight more runs. Florida State started its ace Jamie Arnold in that game and he gave up just two earned runs and struck out nine batters in six innings.

Arnold started for the Seminoles in game 1 against Tennessee, so he won't be available against Virginia. FSU head coach Link Jarrett confirmed in the postgame press conference on Friday that junior lefty Carson Dorsey will start against Virginia on Sunday. Dorsey also pitched in that ACC Tournament game against UVA and had one of his worst outings, failing to record an out and giving up four earned runs on three hits and a walk. He's been better as a starter, though, posting high-quality six-inning starts in road wins at Wake Forest and Duke. For the season, Dorsey has a 7-4 record in 22 appearances and 10 starts and a 4.67 ERA with 81 strikeouts and 35 walks in 69.1 innings.

For Virginia, Brian O'Connor was not asked to name a starter in the postgame press conference, but it will either be junior righty Jay Woolfolk or graduate righty Joe Savino. It's been more than two weeks since Savino pitched in UVA's NCAA Tournament opener against Penn, as the Cavaliers gave the nod to Woolfolk for game 2 of the Super Regionals and that series didn't go to a third game. Woolfolk, while not as sharp as his brilliant start against Mississippi State, was still solid in the win over Kansas State. Savino started against FSU in the ACC Tournament and gave up four earned runs on six hits in 4.2 innings and struck out four batters. Woolfolk pitched two full innings out of the bullpen in that game, giving up one earned run on three hits and striking out three.

UPDATE: Brian O'Connor announced on Saturday that Jay Woolfolk will be Virginia's starting pitcher against Florida State on Sunday.

Stay tuned to CavaliersNow for more coverage of Virginia baseball at the College World Series, including score updates and live analysis for the Virginia-Florida State elimination game on Sunday afternoon.