CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Jay Woolfolk settled down to pitch into the ninth inning after a rough start and No. 12 national seed Virginia scored six runs in its final time at bat in a 9-2 victory over Mississippi State on Sunday night, winning the Charlottesville Regional and earning a berth in the super regionals.
Woolfolk surrendered a two-run home run to Dakota Jordan in the bottom of the first inning after Henry Ford’s RBI single gave the Cavaliers (44-15) a 1-0 lead in the top half. David Mershon had a one-out single before Jordan homered.
Ford and Ference had RBI singles in the top of the third to put Virginia up 3-2. Both runs were unearned after a two-out throwing error by Mershon at shortstop
Woolfolk (3-1) held the Bulldogs (40-23) to five hits through seven scoreless innings after the first. He gave way to Chase Hungate after allowing a leadoff single in the ninth. Hungate’s second pitch turned into a double play.
Virginia broke the game open in the ninth. No. 9 hitter Luke Hanson drove in the first two runs with a single. The final two runs scored on back-to-back wild pitches by Bulldogs reliever Karson Ligon.
Virginia has made six College World Series appearances, all since 2009. The Cavaliers won the event in 2015 after losing to Vanderbilt in the title game the previous season.
Mississippi State has advanced to the CWS 12 times, most recently in 2021 when it won its only championship. The Bulldogs were the runners-up to UCLA in 2013.
Mississippi State beat St. John’s 13-5 in an elimination game to begin the day.
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AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports
