UVA Spring Sports Roundup 4/09
By Josh Burton
Success continued on another week for the UVA athletics department, let's take a look at how all the spring sports programs fared.
Baseball
UVA Baseball is up to #11 this week after picking up a win over ODU followed by a huge 2-1 series victory over #13 North Carolina (UNC was ranked #10 during the series). Not only were the results great, but there was also some very good news for the Hoos.
On the mound, Joe Savino made his anticipated debut for the Wahoos with a single inning start against ODU, allowing only one hit while striking out a pair. Savino is an arm that figured to slot in from the start. Savino being able to finally get going is a very welcome addition for a staff that is already down two of their better arms.
But that wasn’t where the good news stopped; in the second contest of the UNC series, the Hoos got their best performance yet from starter Evan Blanco. He went over 6 innings of two run ball while also striking out seven. As mentioned, the staff rounding out and coming into its own is a very welcome sign for this year's team as pitching has been the main concern.
Offensively, a performance for the ages and a major slump beginning to break were in the cards for the Wahoos over the weekend. First-year phenom Henry Ford hit an incredible three home runs in the opening game against UNC, becoming the first Wahoo in over two decades to do so! The fun didn’t stop there, as in the second contest Ethan Anderson had a multi-homer game of his own, delivering twice for the Cavaliers. Ethan has been the most surprising struggling player so far this year, but there’s still plenty of baseball to be played and this type of performance may be just what he needed to get back on track.
🎧 Thursday's @CHOAirport Radio Call of the Game 👇
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Have your volume 🆙 to listen to Henry Ford's 3rd home run take flight ✈️#GoHoos pic.twitter.com/2GRFhmSb1Z
This week, the Hoos host VCU tonight (6 pm) before traveling to Louisville for the weekend series beginning on Friday (4/12, 6 pm).
Softball
The Hoos continued their winning ways this week as they picked up a 2-1 series victory at Notre Dame. They’ve now won 10 of their last 11 games and are carrying serious momentum entering the final stretch of the season. Jade Hylton had a big series, going a combined 5-12 with 5 RBI’s over the weekend.
They begin a five game homestand tonight against Liberty (7 pm) before hosting NC State for the weekend series beginning Friday (4/12, 7 pm). Both of these games listed will be on ACC Network.
Roundup
#2 Men’s Lacrosse picked up a big 14-6 victory over UNC on Saturday as Payton Cormier scored his 200th career goal. They’ll be back in action this Sunday in a highly-anticipated showdown at rival #3 Duke (4/14, 2 pm). This one will air on ACC Network.
#11 Women’s Lacrosse picked up a pair of wins this week, first defeating VCU before going on the road and picking up a win at Louisville on Saturday. Their next game will be this Saturday as they host #3 Boston College on Senior Day (4/13, 4 pm). This one will be on ACC Network.
#2 Men’s Tennis extended their match winning streak to 10 as they picked up victories this week at Virginia Tech then over Boston College on Senior Day. Their regular season will come to a close this week as they head to Clemson on Thursday (4/11, 5 pm) before finishing up at Georgia Tech on Saturday (4/13, noon).
#4 Women’s Tennis split a pair of matches this week as they dropped the set at #6 UNC before picking up the big Victory at #20 Duke over the weekend. During the week, Melodie Collard and Elaine Chervinsky were named ACC Doubles Team of the Week for their performances the week prior. The women will also finish up the regular season this weekend as they host #19 Miami on Friday (4/12, 4 pm) and then Florida State on Sunday (4/14, noon)
(Featured Image Credit: Emily Faith Morgan/UVA Athletics)