Cal overcomes early deficit to defeat Virginia in series finale
· Yahoo Sports
No. 23 Virginia baseball fell to Cal, 8-7, on Sunday afternoon at Disharoon Park in the Cavaliers’ final home game of the regular season.
Virginia dropped to 33-18 overall and 13-14 in ACC play, while Cal improved to 27-24 and 10-17 in conference action with the series-clinching victory.
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Despite the loss, Virginia’s Joe Tiroly delivered a historic performance at the plate by hitting three home runs. He became just the seventh player in program history to homer three times in a single game and the second Cavalier to accomplish the feat this season.
Virginia built an early 4-0 lead through the first three innings before Cal rallied behind a seventh-inning grand slam to take control of the game.
Kyle Johnson received a no-decision after allowing four runs on four hits across six innings while striking out multiple batters. Lucas Hartman was charged with the loss after surrendering the go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning.
Before first pitch, Virginia honored Noah Jouras, Kevin Jaxel, Joe Colucci, Lucas Hartman, Harrison Didawick and Dean Kampschror during a Senior Day ceremony.
The Cavaliers opened the scoring in the first inning when Tiroly launched a solo home run. Later in the frame, Sam Harris added a two-run homer to give Virginia a 3-0 advantage. The blast was Harris’ team-leading 14th home run of the season.
Virginia extended the lead to 4-0 in the third inning when AJ Gracia connected on his 13th home run of the year with a drive beyond the center-field wall.
Cal began its comeback in the fifth inning with a sacrifice fly and a two-run home run by Gannon Snyder to cut the deficit to 4-3.
Tiroly responded in the bottom half of the inning with his second home run of the day, pushing Virginia’s lead to 5-3.
The Bears answered again in the sixth inning when Daniel Murillo hit a solo homer to make it a one-run game.
Cal took the lead for good in the seventh inning after Jett Kenady delivered a two-out grand slam, giving the Golden Bears an 8-5 advantage.
Tiroly capped his standout performance in the bottom of the seventh with a two-run homer to left field, trimming the deficit to one run.
Virginia remained within striking distance thanks to strong relief work from Thomas Stewart, who tossed 1.2 scoreless innings. Tyler Kapa recorded the final two outs for the Cavaliers.
Cal reliever Trent Roach retired all six batters he faced to earn the save and secure the series victory.
Tiroly’s three-home run game marked the second time this season a Virginia player hit three homers in a contest after AJ Gracia accomplished the feat against Monmouth on Feb. 20.
Virginia’s five home runs on Sunday increased the team’s season total to 88, surpassing the 2023 squad for the second-most home runs in a single season in program history. The program record remains 116 home runs set in 2024.
Stewart has now thrown 7.1 consecutive scoreless innings across six relief appearances since returning from injury, while Kapa has held opponents scoreless in 18 of his 22 outings this season.