The Shadow
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 23 Virginia baseball team (32-16) swept the Radford Highlanders (21-21) in a doubleheader at Disharoon Park on Sunday (May 3). Virginia run-ruled Radford 11-1 in game one before plating 14 more runs in the nightcap in a decisive 14-5 victory.
In game one, Kyle Johnson picked up his first win in a Virginia uniform by allowing only one run on three hits in five innings of work with five strikeouts. Max Stammel picked up the win in game two with two innings of one-run ball in relief. On a day when the Virginia offense scored 25 runs in 16 innings, Joe Tiroly led the way by going a combined 5-for-9 with seven RBIs and three extra-base hits. Harrison Didawick drove in five more across the two wins.
HOW IT HAPPENED – Game 1
- Johnson retired the first six batters that he faced before allowing a leadoff double in the top of the third to Radford’sBrady Powell. The Radford left fielder proved to be the Highlanders’ only run of the contest when he scored three batters later.
- Down a run in the bottom of the third, the UVA trio of Joe Tiroly, Sam Harris and Jake Weatherspoon each hit solo shots to put Virginia out front for good at 3-1 with three innings in the books.
- In relief of Johnson, Henry Zatkowski tossed two shutout innings with a pair of strikeouts.
- The 3-1 score held until the sixth inning, when the Cavalier offense exploded for seven runs. The frame included a two-run double from Harris, a three-run home run from Didawick and a two-run blast from Zach Jackson that put UVA up 10-1.
- An inning later, Tiroly singled home Noah Murray to give Virginia an 11-1 run-rule victory to open the day.
HOW IT HAPPENED – Game 2
- To open the nightcap, Radford had two of its first three batters reach thanks to a Virginia fielding error and a catcher’s interference call before Breckin Nace put the Highlanders up 3-0 with a three-run blast to right field.
- Murray got the Cavaliers on the board in the bottom of the second with a bases-loaded RBI groundout before Tiroly unloaded the bases with a three-run triple down the line in right. Harris capped off the five-run Virginia inning with an RBI single that plated Tiroly.
- Radford scratched across another run in the third with a pair of singles and another Virginia fielding error.
- UVA extended its lead to 8-4 in the fourth with an RBI double from Tiroly and a two-out two-run triple off the bat of Harrison Didawick.
- The Virginia bats showed no signs of slowing down as the Cavaliers plated four more runs in the fifth to make it a 12-4 contest.
- Radford’s final run of the day came in the sixth on an infield two-out RBI single that followed another Virginia fielding error.
- Virginia tagged on its final two runs of the contest in the bottom of the seventh, thanks to two back-to-back Radford errors and an RBI groundout from Jackson.
- Out of the bullpen, the UVA relief trio of Noah Yoder, Christian Lucarelli and Lucas Hartman each threw a scoreless inning to seal the 14-5 Virginia victory.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- With the sweep, Virginia improves to 24-4-1 all-time against Radford and has won the last six meetings with the Highlanders.
- UVA has now swept two of the three doubleheaders that the Cavaliers have played in this season. Both sweeps have come at Disharoon Park.
- Virginia’s five home runs in game one pushed the season total to 82 dingers, which is one behind the 2023 squad for the second-most team home runs in a single season.
- The Cavaliers committed six errors in the nightcap, the most by a UVA squad since recording seven against Miami in 2004.
- Harrison Didawick’s home run in the first game was his 41st of his Virginia career. The senior will enter the final seven games of the regular season needing seven home runs to tie Jake Gelof’s program record of 48.
- UVA rallied in both contests for the Cavaliers’ 16th and 17th come-from-behind victories this season.
FROM COACH CHRIS POLLARD:
“Not just 25 runs over 16 innings, but it was against a team that pitched to a five ERA all year. Radford has struggled at times to score runs, but they have thrown the ball well. We saw their best arms today. We didn’t come out of the gates with a great offensive approach, but I loved the way that we were able to shift the offensive approach over the course of game one and continue it in game two.”
UP NEXT
No. 23 Virginia will return to ACC Play on Friday (May 8) for a senior weekend series against the Cal Bears. First pitch of the three-game series opener is slated for 6 p.m. and will be carried on ACCNX and WINA (98.9 FM/1070 AM).
