Virginia outlasts Kansas State to win Super Regional, earn College World Series berth

Virginia used a big ninth inning to pull away from Kansas State on Saturday and punch its ticket to the College World Series. The Cavaliers score a total of five runs in the final inning to go on to an 10-4 victory and complete the Super Regional sweep.

Casey Saucke led Virginia by going 2-for-4 at the plate with one RBI and a home run in the win. The Cavaliers totaled 13 hits overall as a team had three players record multiple hits.

The Cavaliers held a 5-4 advantage entering the ninth inning and added some cushion when triple to right center from Jacob Ference drove in two more runs. Things wouldn’t end there, however, as Virginia eventually loaded the bases before a double from Luke Hanson brought in three more.

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That put the pressure on the Cavaliers defense to close things out and they didn’t disappoint. They forced Kansas State to go three up, three down with Chase Hungate striking out a batter swinging to record to the final out. Hungate pitched the final two innings to record the save, while Jay Woolfolk got the start and the win.

Virginia got off to a quick start when Saucke hit a solo home run in the first inning. That was one of two runs the Cavaliers scored in the opening frame as they jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. KSU would add a run of its own in the bottom of the inning as well as another in the second to tie things up heading into the third.

Things would remain scoreless from their until the fifth inning when Virginia added a couple more runs. Henry Ford hit a two-RBI single down the left side to drive in both runs. The Wildcats once again had an answer in the bottom of the inning as Brendan Jones hit a solo shot to make it a 4-3 Cavaliers lead.

Virginia later added some insurance to its lead in the eighth inning after Henry Godbout narrowly escaped a throw to home plate to score a run. As was the trend for the game, however, KSU responded with a solo homer from Kyan Lodice to cut the lead back to one.

The Cavaliers continue to add to their total down the stretch, however, and the Wildcats simply couldn’t keep up as they saw their season come to a close.

The College World Series appearance is the seventh in school history for Virginia and its second straight after making it in 2023. The Cavaliers become the second school to secure its spot in Omaha, joining fellow ACC program Florida State.

The College World Series will begin on June 14 at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha.