Virginia entered the 2024 ACC tournament coming off an impressive regular season that saw them finish with a 40-14 record. Ranked as the 16th-best team in the nation and the 4th seed in the tournament, expectations were high despite the highly competitive field of teams.
On Wednesday, the Cavaliers took on 9th seed Georgia Tech and came away with a commanding 13-0 win. The 5th shutout of the season was due in large part to Evan Blanco, who held the Yellow Jackets scoreless over six innings, striking out three in the process. The scoring for the Hoos opened up in the second inning with a two-run homer courtesy of Harrison Didawick, tying Jake Gelof’s school record for most home runs in a season with his 23rd of the campaign. Also in the second inning, a pair of RBI singles from Griff O’Ferrall and Henry Ford put the Cavs up by four. A solo shot by Henry Godbout extended the lead to 5-0 in the third inning, while a two-run blast in the fourth by Casey Saucke made it 7-0. From there, the Cavs took care of business, piling on three more runs in the fifth and another three in the sixth. Matt Augustin capped off the victory in the 7th inning, during which he didn’t allow a baserunner.
On Friday, the Cavs battled against 5-seeded Florida State. A Bobby Whalen double in the third inning gave Virginia an early 1-0 lead. In the 4th, a single by ACC Player of the Year James Tibbs III plated two for the Seminoles. They would add on two more in the 5th to make it a 4-1 ballgame. O’Ferrall would get one back for the Cavs with a solo homer in the 6th, but a seven-run 7th by Florida State put the Noles up 11-2. The Hoos would respond with five runs of their own in the bottom of the inning thanks to a pair of two-run blasts from Ethan Anderson and Luke Hanson as well as Saucke’s solo bomb. In the end, the valiant rally wasn’t enough. The Seminoles added another run in the 8th off of a home run from Tibbs as the Cavaliers ultimately fell 12-7, cutting their tournament short.
While it may not have been the ACC tournament that the team and fans were hoping for, the Hoos will have a week to rest before the NCAA tournament begins on May 31st. There, they will have their eyes set on capturing the school’s second College World Series Title since winning it back in 2015.
