Mississippi

UVA baseball wins Charlottesville Regional, beats Mississippi State 9-2

Published

2 years ago

June 3, 2024

UVA baseball wins Charlottesville Regional, beats Mississippi State 9-2

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) – The UVA baseball team got a fantastic pitching performance from starter Jay Woolfolk leading the ‘Hoos to a 9-2 win over Mississippi State Sunday night at Disharoon Park and winning the Charlottesville Regional.

Woolfolk gave up an early 2-run home run but then settled in, pitching a career-high eight innings and striking out a career-high seven batters. He only gave up two earned runs on the homer and only walked one batter.

Woolfolk was named the Charlottesville Regional Most Outstanding Player.

“The outing that he had was one of the best outings that we’ve ever had in my 21 years at Virginia in such a pivotal game,” said UVa coach Brian O’Connor. “He was phenominal. When his team counted on him and he needed to step up, he pitched the game best game he’s pitched in our uniform in three years.”

“I know this season may not have been the best that I wanted it to,” says Woolfolk. “But when you have teammates like these guys and coaches like Oak who believe in you and keep throwing you out in those type of situations, you never lose confidence in yourself no matter what.”

“Seeing his resilience throughout the season has been incredible” says Griff O’Ferrall about Woolfolk. “He’s done a really good job of turning the page from appearance to appearance and that’s why he was such a perfect guy for this situation, it was a clean slate.”

Virginia advances to a Super Regional for the ninth time in the last 15 years. It is not official yet, but Virginia will host a Super Regional. That’s because No. 5 overall seed, Arkansas, was upset and eliminated in the Fayetteville Regional. Kansas State won the Fayetteville Regional and will now play Virginia at Disharoon Park next weekend.

Here are some other postgame notes from a UVA baseball media release:

HOW IT HAPPENED

• For the third-straight day, the Cavaliers were the first to put a run on the scoreboard. Ford drove in his first run of the regional with an RBI single that scored Griff O’Ferrall who led the game off with a double.

• The initial lead for the Cavaliers – the designated visiting team – was short-lived as MSU’s Bryce Jordan blasted a two-run homer in the bottom half of the first, his 20th of the year and third of the regional.

• The Cavaliers regained the lead in the top of the third after Henry Ford’s infield single, followed by an MSU throwing error, allowed O’Ferrall, who was on second, to round third and touch home safely to tie the game, 2-2. On the following at bat, Jacob Ference’s left field single brought home Bobby Whalen, which put the Hoos ahead to stay.

• In the ninth, Harrison Didawick and Henry Godbout both walked to bring up Anderson, whose infield single loaded the bases. Then, Hanson went first-pitch swinging and roped a shot to left to score Godbout and Didawick.

• UVA extend its lead when O’Ferrall laid down a bunt and MSU relief pitch Tyler Davis’ throw to first sailed past the MSU first baseman to bring home two more runs.

• Later in the ninth, the Hoos tacked on two more runs on two separate wild pitches, which allowed O’Ferrall and Whalen to touch home plate, respectively.

• Woolfolk received a standing ovation from the Disharoon Park crowd in the bottom of the ninth. Righty Chase Hungate entered in relief and retired two of the next three batters, one of which on a 5-4 double play, to clinch the Charlottesville Regional.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• The Cavaliers improve to 3-0 against SEC teams this season with two wins against Mississippi State and one against Auburn on Feb. 25.

• Ethan Anderson has reached base in 30-straight games with his single seventh inning.

• The start on the mound for Woolfolk was his first since March 17. His previous career-high in innings pitched was 6.0 vs. UMass on 3/3/24 and his previous career-best for strikeouts was six at Miami on March 10)

• O’Ferrall scored three runs in the contest and moved into second place, passing Bill Narleski (1984-87) for second place on UVA’s career runs scored list.

UP NEXT

In the best-of-three Super Regional round, Virginia will be square off against Kansas State (35-24), the winner of the Fayetteville Regional, next weekend. Start times and TV designations will post to VirginiaSports.com announced by the NCAA on Tuesday (June 2).

All-Tournament Team

C – Jacob Ference, Virginia

1B – Hunter Hines, Mississippi State

2B – Henry Godbout, Virginia

3B – Eric Becker, Virginia

SS – David Mershon, Mississippi State

OF – Jackson Tucker, St. John’s

OF – Dakota Jordan, Mississippi State

OF – Bryce Chance, Mississippi State

DH – Paul Orbon, St. John’s

P – Khal Stephan, Mississippi State

P – Jay Woolfolk, Virginia

P – Matt Augustin, Virginia

MOP – Jay Woolfolk or Eric Becker

*A tie in the voting at pitcher resulted in a 12-man All-Tournament Team

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Mississippi

How Mississippi State’s Tomas Valincius dominated third straight SEC team vs Ole Miss

Published

23 hours ago

March 28, 2026

Press Room

How Mississippi State’s Tomas Valincius dominated third straight SEC team vs Ole Miss

OXFORD — Tomas Valincius struck out top Ole Miss baseball batter Tristan Bissetta looking on his last pitch of the game.

There was no emotion from the Mississippi State starting pitcher as he walked back to the dugout after Bissetta was the fourth straight Ole Miss batter to strike out.

It was another instance of Valincius, the left-handed Virginia transfer, showing a trait that’s made him such a dominant pitcher for the No. 4 Bulldogs. The longer Valincius pitches, the better he gets.

The sophomore pitched another five shutout innings as MSU (23-4, 5-2 SEC) took down No. 18 Ole Miss, 6-1, at Swayze Field on March 28 to win the series.

“It’s all mental,” Valincius said. “Just going out there and just kind of trusting yourself and all the work you put in throughout the week. And even when you don’t have your stuff, it’s still a war between every battle in every inning. It’s kind of like finding a way to do what you can do with what you got.”

The win clinched the Bulldogs’ ninth series against the Rebels (19-9, 3-5) in the last 10 meetings. Another win March 29 (3 p.m., SEC Network) would make Brian O’Connor the third straight first-year MSU coach to sweep Ole Miss.

Valincius (6-0) hasn’t allowed an earned run in 19 SEC innings and his season ERA dropped to 0.91.

Against the Rebels, one game after striking out a career-high 14 batters against Vanderbilt, Valincius recorded nine strikeouts with three hits, two walks and one hit by pitch in 90 pitches.

“He buckled down when runners were in scoring position,” O’Connor said. “He’s always best in his middle innings. You see him just rise his game up.”

Why Tomas Valincius could’ve done even better against Ole Miss

While the Ole Miss game was Valincius’ third SEC start without allowing an earned run, it was his shortest outing of the three. The other two against Arkansas and Vanderbilt both lasted seven innings.

Valincius stranded six Ole Miss batters on base in his five innings.

“Early on, I didn’t really feel like I had anything going,” Valincius said. “I was kind of just finding a way to win. That was kind of my whole approach throughout the whole game. I couldn’t really figure out the slider and fastball command. It wasn’t working a lot. I just found a way to win.”

Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.

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Mississippi

Mother, her 2 daughters among 5 killed in collision between train and van

Published

1 day ago

March 28, 2026

Press Room

Mother, her 2 daughters among 5 killed in collision between train and van

STONE COUNTY, Miss. (WLOX/Gray News) — Multiple people were killed in a crash between a train and a van on Friday afternoon in Mississippi.

Stone County Sheriff Todd Stewart said the crash happened around 1 p.m. on Pump Branch Road. First responders had to cut through the woods to get to the wreckage.

There were six people in the van at the time of the crash, Stewart said. Stone County Coroner Wayne Flurry confirmed five of them died in the crash.

Multiple people are dead after a crash between a train and a van in Mississippi. (WLOX)

The sixth person was airlifted to New Orleans.

The five victims were identified as 26-year-old Ryan C. Peterson, who was a corrections officer with the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, 23-year-old Demarcus Perkins, 45-year-old Kristina Carver, and Carver’s two daughters, 22-year-old Emley Chamblee and 20-year-old Sarabeth Chamblee.

Nearby resident Pam Olson has been sounding the alarm on the Pump Branch Road railroad crossing for some time. She was tending to her garden with her husband when the sound of screeching brakes made them jolt.

“We heard it,” explained Olson. “My husband and I were in the yard working on our flowerbeds. I told my husband a train hit another vehicle. My husband ran up there and said, ‘Pam, it’s bad.’”

A recent report from the Stone County Enterprise outlines another wreck in the same spot, which resulted in the driver of a pickup truck being airlifted. Stewart also pointed out a fatal train accident in Stone County happened at the location in 2023, claiming the life of a Wiggins woman.

“This’d be the second incident in the last four to five weeks involving fatalities and the third incident in the last year, all involving fatalities,” explained Stewart. “To date, we’ve lost seven folks within the last year.”

The crossing does not have crossing arms or lights. Stone County District 1 Supervisor Jimmy Springs said he previously reached out to Mississippi Department of Transportation railroad engineers and was told crossing arms are on the way for two crossings, including the one at Pump Branch Road. However, it could take a year for them to be installed.

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CLASH Endurance triathlon begins on Mississippi Gulf Coast

Published

2 days ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

CLASH Endurance triathlon begins on Mississippi Gulf Coast

GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) — The CLASH Endurance triathlon officially started along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Maya Reilly placed first in the collegiate female draft-legal division.

“I placed first, so I’m pretty stoked about that,” Reilly said.

Winning a triathlon means beating competitors from across the country and around the world in swimming, biking and running.

“Definitely a lot of hours goes into the sport, but the actual race was tough. It was like full gas, swim, bike, and run, so over an hour. And I’m excited to be able to be done and take home the win,” Reilly said.

Maya Reilly placed first in the collegiate female draft-legal division.(WLOX)

Athletes praise Gulf Coast hospitality

It’s CLASH Endurance’s first year on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and athletes say the experience is just as memorable as the competition.

“I have had such a great time down here in the south. It’s, like, the nicest people I’ve ever met. The culture is amazing. The music’s great. The food’s great. Honestly, nothing but positive for me. It’s awesome,” said Annette Zavala of the UC Davis Triathlon Team.

“I really like this course. It was really cool to see them swim in the marina. The course was very accessible to view, which I really appreciated,” said Sophia Najera of the UC Davis Triathlon Team.

It’s CLASH Endurance’s first year on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and athletes say the... — It’s CLASH Endurance’s first year on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and athletes say the experience is just as memorable as the competition.(WLOX)

More than 28 countries and all 50 states are represented, bringing a boost to the coastal economy.

“All of the athletes who are visiting coastal Mississippi, they’re staying in the hotels, they’re visiting the restaurants, they’re shopping, and they’re not just staying for a night or two. Some of them are staying and playing,” said Blair Lahaye, CLASH Endurance vice president of communications.

Athletes say it’s the support from the crowd and each other that pushes them across the finish line.

“You might have the worst mindset out there, but just hearing someone believe in you, like, that’s sometimes all you need to move forward,” Zavala said.

“I could not have gone through half the races I did, half the trainings I did, without the support of my teammates. We’re really excited to come race tomorrow, and we were super glad to get to be able to cheer on our teammates today,” Najera said.