Virginia baseball beats Kansas State to earn seventh trip to College World Series (2024)

Virginia’s attacking, deep lineup saved its most impactful outburst of the postseason yet to ensure another trip for the program to the College World Series.

The No. 12-seeded Cavaliers tallied five runs in the ninth inning — two on Jacob Ference’s two-run triple into Disharoon Park’s right-center gap and three on Luke Hanson’s pinch-hit, bases-loaded double down the third-base line — to break open the second contest of the Charlottesville Super Regional and beat Kansas State, 10-4, on Saturday afternoon, sweeping the Wildcats.

UVa will make its second consecutive appearance in Omaha, third in the past four seasons and seventh overall.

“I won’t be able to get the smile off my face that they get the opportunity to go back,” 21st-year Cavaliers coach Brian O’Connor said afterward.

Both Ference’s triple and Hanson’s double came with two outs, too, to turn the one-run advantage the Hoos (46-15) clung to entering the ninth into the comfortable score they won by over the Wildcats (35-25).

Ten runs are the most runs the Cavaliers have scored in this NCAA tournament after they went into the Charlottesville Super Regional ranked second nationally for hitting, fifth for runs scored, tied for fourth for doubles and tied for 11th for home runs.

“The main thing for us is not trying to press,” UVa junior shortstop Griff O’Ferrall said about the Cavaliers’ approach in the later innings and with two outs. “Not trying to do too much. We have the talent to score at any time at any point of the lineup. When we get in trouble it’s when we try to do too much and come out of the simplicity of our approach. So, we were sticking to what we do, and we knew we’re a talented offense, so we were clear with what we were trying to do at the plate. We tried to let that take over.”

Back-to-back singles from Ethan Anderson and Casey Saucke started the rally before Henry Ford lined out.

But even with two outs, the Hoos kept their poise and Ference clubbed an off-speed pitch into the right-center alley. The ball was beyond the reach of Wildcats center fielder Brendan Jones and one-hopped the wall as Anderson and Saucke raced around the bases to score on Ference’s triple, which pushed UVa’s lead to 7-4 and began a swelling roar from the 5,919 in attendance who sensed another chance to play on college baseball’s biggest stage was nearing.

After Harrison Didawick and Henry Godbout drew walks, Hanson added to the advantage with his three-run double.

“We’ve scored a ton of runs with two outs this year,” O’Connor said, “and with two outs and nobody on, but that’s the relentlessness of this team. I think it’s the absolute best word to describe this team. They just don’t stop and they believe in each other and they believe they can do anything. What a great quality to have.”

Said Kansas State coach Pete Hughes about the Cavaliers’ offense: “What stuck out about today’s game was they had 10 two-out RBIs.”

And that was the constant on Saturday.

UVa scored the game’s first runs on Saucke’s two-out, 437-foot solo shot to left-center field and Didawick’s two-out RBI single in the opening inning.

Ford, the Cavaliers’ freshman first baseman and native of Charlottesville who grew up going to UVa games, delivered in the fifth with two outs to break a 2-2 tie also. His two-run single, which ripped past Kansas State third baseman Jaden Parson’s dive, stood as the go-ahead hit when he put the Hoos ahead, 4-2.

Remarkably, they were able to hold the edge even when Kansas State countered.

And especially after UVa starter Jay Woolfolk surrendered a solo home run to the Wildcats’ Brendan Jones that made it 4-3 in the bottom of the fifth. That was the lone mistake after the second inning for Woolfolk (4-1), who threw 6.1 innings and struck out seven, to earn his second win of the postseason.

When he allowed a one-out double to Chuck Ingram in the seventh, the Hoos’ relievers did what they’ve done through the first two rounds of the postseason by making the starter’s strong work count.

Left-hander Angelo Tonas threw three pitches and got two fly outs to strand Ingram at second.

UVa added an insurance in the eighth on Eric Becker’s RBI double and that was critical, because Tonas allowed a solo homer to Kyan Lodice to start the home eighth that made the score 5-4.

Cavaliers closer Chase Hungate entered, though, and retired the side in order ahead of UVa breaking the game open with those five runs in the top of the ninth.

He threw a clean bottom of the ninth inning, too, to earn the save as the Hoos mobbed Hungate and each other in a celebratory dogpile after Hungate struck out Ingram looking.

Their sell-out crowd cheered them on as chants of, ‘Let’s Go Hoos!’ filled the air.

UVa swept its way through the regional and super regional rounds for just the second time in its history and the last time the Hoos did was in 2015 when they won the national title. The Cavaliers beat Penn and Mississippi State twice last week ahead of beating Kansas State, 7-4, in come-from-behind fashion in Game 1 of this series on Friday to set up Saturday’s clincher.

“It’s so hard to be perfect to go 5-0,” O’Connor, “and you see [how hard it is] with regionals and super regionals all over the country because the other team in the other dugout really good and you have to be on the mark like we were today.”