With the Wahoos up by two touchdowns in the bottom of the eighth inning, Jay Woolfolk waited just beyond the right field wall. He leaned on the fence that separated the Virginia bullpen from the playing field, all warmed up and anxious to make his Disharoon Park debut.

The loud cheers began as soon as the bullpen gate opened. They grew a little more rowdy as the first-year UVa right-hander uncorked a 92 mph fastball on his first warmup pitch.

At one point on Wednesday, with the temperature still in the 70s and the sun still hitting the seats along the third-base line, a solid contingent of UVa football players and coaches had gathered to support the freshman, who also happens to be the Hoos’ backup quarterback. That crowd had dwindled by the time Woolfolk came on in the ninth—and tip-off of the basketball game against Duke approaching down the street—but those who stuck around until the final frame made their presence known.

“It was electric out here,” Woolfolk said afterward, admitting that the presence of his football teammates gave him a rush of extra adrenaline on the mound. “I mean, they made it louder than it really had to be.”