The Shadow
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – To open a five-game homestand, the No. 14 Virginia baseball team (14-3) topped the William & Mary Tribe by a score of 9-7 on Tuesday evening (March 10) at Disharoon Park.
The Cavaliers found themselves in a 2-2 contest after the opening three innings of play before UVA blew the game open with a five-run fourth. Back-to-back home runs from Joe Tiroly and Sam Harris in the seventh solidified Virginia’s 16th straight home win.
Harrison Didawick led the Cavalier attack on Tuesday by going 3-for-5 with an RBI. Harris went 2-for-3 and drove in two runs of his own. Lucas Hartman picked up his team-best fourth win of the season with a pair of shutout innings in relief and a season-high five strikeouts.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After UVA starter Jayden Stroman worked around a leadoff walk for a scoreless top of the first, AJ Gracia doubled to left center to score Eric Becker to put the Cavaliers up two batters into the game. Gracia extended the Virginia advantage to 2-0 after the opening frame when the junior outfielder scored on a balk by the William & Mary pitcher.
- The Tribe tied the game in the top of the second with a pair of runs on an RBI double to left center and an RBI groundout.
- With the game tied at 2-2, the Virginia offense exploded for a five-run bottom of the fourth, highlighted by a Harris two-run bases-loaded single through the left side and a Didawick RBI base knock.
- William and Mary answered with a trio of runs in the top of the sixth with an RBI groundout and a two-run two-out single.
- Virginia put the game out of reach in the home half of the inning when Tiroly and Harris crushed back-to-back solo home runs to make it a 9-5 contest. The dingers were Tiroly’s second and Harris’ sixth of the campaign.
- William and Mary’s final two runs of the night came in the top of the seventh when the Tribe’s Charlie Iriotakis poked a two-run home run over the wall in right.
- To pick up his third save of the season and to secure the 9-7 Virginia victory, Tyler Kapa retired all four William & Mary batters he faced, including striking out the side in the ninth.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- With the win, Virginia improves to 84-31-2 all-time against William & Mary and has won the last seven meetings against the Tribe.
- Virginia will enter its weekend series with Virginia Tech riding a 16-game home win streak, which is the longest among Power Four programs and the second-longest in the country.
- Joe Tiroly and Sam Harris’ back-to-back home runs in the sixth were the second time this season that a pair of Virginia batters hit back-to-back homers. AJ Gracia and Sam Harris accomplished the feat against Monmouth.
- Sam Harris’ sixth-inning home run traveled an estimated 462 feet and cleared the batter’s eye in centerfield. Harris is the first Cavalier to hit a home run over UVA’s “Blue Monster” since Chris Newell against Virginia Tech in 2022.
- With his RBI double in the first, AJ Gracia has each base safely in all 17 games this season.
FROM HEAD COACH CHRIS POLLARD
“I thought it was a really good approach with their starting pitching. I thought it was a great job by Lucas Hartman to come in and minimize the damage and give us a clean sixth. I thought it was a great job by Kapa to come in and pick up Jaxel. Several guys are really starting to turn the corner offensively. I loved the at-bats by Joe Tiroly and there are plenty of things that we’ll need to clean up.”
UP NEXT
No. 14 Virginia will continue its homestand on Friday (March 13) as the Cavaliers welcome the Virginia Tech Hokies to Disharoon Park for the annual Smithfield Commonwealth Clash series. The series opener is slated for a 4 p.m. first pitch and will be carried on ACCNX and WINA (98.9 FM/1070 AM).
