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No. 11 Baseball Welcomes NC State for Three Games
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. The No. 11 Virginia baseball team takes on North Carolina State in a three-game ACC series this weekend at Davenport Field. The teams will play at 7 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
ON AIR
The Friday and Sunday games both will be available online through ACC Select. The Saturday contest is the ACC Game of the Week and will be televised on the Regional Sports Network with Mike Hogewood and Dan Bonner on the call. FSN South, FSN Florida and Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic all will televise the game.
All three games will be available on radio with WINA 1070-AM and online at VirginiaSports.com through V Pass. For the Friday broadcast, WINA will start with the baseball game at 7 p.m., then cut to the men’s lacrosse ACC Tournament game vs. Duke at 7:30 p.m. They will cut back to baseball during lacrosse breaks and halftime, then go back to baseball following the conclusion of the lacrosse game.
WEEKEND PROMOTIONS/NOTABLES
With forecast temperatures in the 80s and large crowds anticipated for all three games, fans are encouraged to purchase their tickets in advance at VirginiaSports.com and to arrive early to Davenport Field. Gates and ticket booths open two hours prior to each game.
Sunday, because of an event at John Paul Jones Arena, baseball parking will only be available in the Cage lot and Emmet-Ivy Garage.
Friday is Youth Day at the stadium, with all youth 18 and under getting $1 off the general admission rate. Virginia baseball cards also will be given away to the first 1,000 fans.
Saturday is Fan Appreciation Day, as well as an Orange Out.’ Fans are encouraged to wear orange to the game in support of the Cavaliers. Prizes will be given out to fans throughout the game. The ‘Toss for $10,000’ promotion also will be played, with one lucky fan getting the chance to win $10,000.
Sunday is Family Day (four tickets, four hot dogs and four sodas for $32). There also will be a post-game autograph session as well as base running for kids 13 and under.
NOTING THE SERIES
Here are the pitching matchups for this weekend (UVa listed first):
Fri. – LHP Danny Hultzen (5-0, 2.36 ERA) vs. LHP Jimmy Gillheeney (5-2, 3.48 ERA)
Sat. – RHP Andrew Carraway (4-0, 3.46 ERA) vs. TBA
Sun. – RHP Robert Morey (1-0, 2.70 ERA) vs. TBA
Virginia (32-8-1, 11-7-1 ACC) has won three straight games entering the weekend. After taking two of three at Boston College last weekend, the Cavaliers soundly defeated VCU (8-1) and Georgetown (9-3) this week.
With 32 wins, UVa joins Georgia and North Carolina with the most wins in the country. Only nine teams nationally boast 30 or more wins George Mason has 31, while Coastal Carolina, East Carolina, LSU, New Mexico and Ole Miss each have 30 victories.
The Cavaliers continue to lead the ACC in batting (.347) and earned run average (3.11). As of the Tuesday NCAA rankings, Virginia ranks 11th nationally in team batting average (.349 entering the week). Eastern Illinois leads at .375. The Cavaliers also are sixth in hits (486), ninth in doubles (97), 12th in triples (16) and 15th in runs (344).
Virginia’s pitching staff ranks third in the country in ERA (3.17 entering the week). Only Texas (2.17) and Arizona State (2.48) are better. UVa also stands fourth in hits allowed per nine innings (7.66) and 10th in strikeouts per nine innings (9.7).
NC State (19-22, 7-14) has lost five in a row, but four of those came to ranked teams (No. 17 East Carolina and No. 15 Florida State). Devon Cartwright leads the Wolfpack with a .299 batting average, while Pratt Maynard is hitting .271 with a team-best 31 RBI. NC State is batting .265 as a team and has a 5.01 team ERA.
The Cavaliers and Wolfpack have played several close games of late, with six of the last seven contests decided by three runs or fewer. NC State holds a 116-63-1 edge in the all-time series after winning two of three last year in Raleigh. All three games in that series were decided by two runs. The Cavaliers have not won a series against NC State since 2001.