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JUNE 2022 21 In a 15-game stretch, Gelof had homered twice in the same game four times. In the last 22 years of Virginia baseball, only Jon Benick in 2000 had accomplished that feat. Prior to the 2022 season, only three Cavaliers had two or more multi-home run games in the same season, Benick, Dan Street (2002) and UVA Baseball Hall of Famer Mark Reynolds (2002). Graduate student outfielder Alex Tappen also joined Gelof in this exclusive club on May 1 with a two-homer game against Virginia Tech after earlier hitting a pair against Wake Forest. By March 23, Gelof was leading the na- tion in home runs (13), RBI (46) and total bases (86). He was slugging an absurd 1.194 and ranked in the top five in batting average (.472) and runs scored (30). The incredible individual numbers were certainly historic, but most importantly his play helped the Cavaliers get off to the best start in school history. Virginia, which came into the 2022 season unranked, quickly ascended to the No. 3 team in the country by April 4 according to D1Baseball.com and was a staple in the top 25 for the remainder of the regular season. The Cavaliers rattled off the best start in program history with wins in 22 of their first 23 games and set a school record with 19 straight wins at home. The accolades began to roll in. D1Base- ball.com and Perfect Game both named Gelof as the National Midseason Player of the Year. He played his way on to the Golden Spikes Award watch list, college baseball's version of the Heisman Trophy. Gelof had arrived, and the Cavaliers were a force to be reckoned with. As the level of competition got better and the always-challenging ACC schedule heated up, Gelof remained a consistent source of production. His numbers were among the best against the best opponents. In 30 regular- season games against ACC opponents, Gelof was a monster. His batting average was an astounding .376, and 10 of his 19 regular- season home runs came against league foes. Gelof was rewarded for his regular season prowess by being named a semifinalist for two of College Baseball's most prestigious awards, the NCBWA Dick Howser Trophy and the Golden Spikes award. He's the first Cav- alier to be considered for both since Adam Haseley, who was a third-year in 2017 when he garnered the national attention. Good news for UVA fans, with Gelof only a second-year, there are many games still ahead for him in Cavalier blue and orange. For the majority of the season, UVA featured one of the most balanced teams in all of college baseball. At the plate, baseballs flew out of the ballpark at a historic rate. A total of 72 times during the regu- lar season to be exact, shattering the 34-year-old record of 67 home runs set by the 1988 club. Virginia's arms were equally impressive, sporting the ACC's lowest ERA going into the confer- ence tournament. The pitching staff accounted for seven shutouts and 562 strikeouts, with the latter figure being the ninth most in the nation and the fifth most in school history with NCAA Tournament postseason games yet to play. At the close of the regular sea- son, Virginia and consensus No. 1 team in the country Tennessee were the only two teams in the country to be ranked in the top 20 in both team batting average and earned run average. The historic numbers started piling up right from the start. Virginia was one of the last three undefeated teams in college baseball, rat- tling off 14 consecutive wins to start the season and victories in 22 of the first 23 games, the best 23-game start in program history. It wasn't all good times with the Cavaliers hitting a lull near the midway point, dropping seven out of eight games, including ACC road series at Miami and Pitt. The Cavaliers righted the ship in dramatic fashion with a sweep of eventual ACC Tournament cham- pion North Carolina at Disharoon Park. The series was clinched on a walk-off grand slam by graduate student Devin Ortiz in the bottom of the 10th, the only Cavalier in the last 25 years with two walk-off home runs in a career. Hosting an NCAA Regional was in view for the majority of the sea- son, but the Cavaliers stumbled down the stretch. UVA lost two of the last three ACC series and went 0-2 as the No. 5 seed in the ACC Tournament at Charlotte, N.C. "We were not playing great Vir- ginia baseball at the ACC Tourna- ment," head coach Brian O'Connor said. "That said, there's been many years that we didn't play well in that tournament and went on and made runs to Omaha." The road to Omaha for the 2022 Cavaliers started June 3-5 in Greenville, N.C., where they were scheduled to play a double-elimination regional with host East Caro- lina, Coastal Carolina and Coppin State. UVA has now made the NCAA Tournament in 16 of 19 seasons under head coach Brian O'Connor. Virginia has reached the College World Series five times since 2009, tied for the second most in of any college baseball program. On three of those occasions, UVA has defied the odds by making it to the college baseball mecca as a visiting team at a regional. The Cavaliers are one of the six teams that went to Omaha last year that are part of the 2022 field. — Scott Fitzgerald Graduate student left-hander Brian Gursky earned second-team All-ACC honors after posting a 7-1 record with a 3.32 ERA in 12 starts during the regular season. (Photo courtesy UVA) Cavaliers Aiming For Their Sixth College World Series Appearance Since 2009