No. 18 Baseball Plays Host to No. 14 FSU This Weekend

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VIRGINIA CAVALIERS (14-0, 3-0 ACC)
Probable Starting Rotation
Fri. – LHP Danny Hultzen (3-0, 0.95 ERA)
Sat. – RHP Andrew Carraway (3-0, 1.47 ERA)
Sun. – RHP Will Roberts (2-0, 2.40 ERA)

FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES (9-5, 1-2 ACC)
Probable Starting Rotation
Fri. – LHP Sean Gilmartin (3-0, 2.14 ERA)
Sat. – LHP Brian Busch (0-1, 3.06 ERA)
Sun. – RHP Mike McGee (1-1, 4.85 ERA)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. The No. 18 Virginia baseball team plays its first home ACC series of 2009 this weekend when it welcomes No. 14 Florida State to Davenport Field for a three-game series the earliest home ACC series in Virginia history. Game one is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday, with games at 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday set to follow. All three games will be available online through ACC Select’s video webcast.

There are lots of activities planned for the weekend. Friday is Military Appreciation Night, with $4 general admission tickets available to those who show their military ID. Saturday, the Washington Nationals’ Presidents will be at Davenport Field and will have their legendary Presidents’ Race during the game. Sunday, the season’s first “Toss for $10,000’ will be held, as one lucky fan will have the chance to win $10,000. There also will be a 20-minute autograph session and base running following the game.

Virginia is 14-0 overall and 3-0 in the ACC this season. Last weekend, the Cavaliers scored 47 runs and racked up 61 hits in a dominating three-game series sweep at Wake Forest. UVa then posted a 17-1 win over Navy and a 10-3 victory over VMI in midweek action this week.

Virginia’s 14-game winning streak is tied with Georgia for the longest active streak in the nation. The Cavaliers and Bulldogs are the lone remaining undefeated teams this year in Division I.

The offense has been the big story in the great start, as Virginia has an ACC-best .402 batting average this season. Five Cavalier hitters are batting over .400, led by Dan Grovatt (So., Tabernacle, N.J.), who is hitting an ACC-best .491, just ahead of Florida State’s Tyler Holt, who is batting .474. Jarrett Parker (So., Stafford, Va.), the UVa leadoff hitter, is fourth in the league with a .455 batting average and leads the ACC in runs scored (24), triples (3), total bases (49) and on base percentage (.551).

Virginia’s pitching has been stout as well with a 1.93 team ERA, which also leads the ACC. Danny Hultzen (Fr., Bethesda, Md.) has gotten off to a strong start, with a 3-0 record and 0.95 ERA, which ranks third in the ACC. Hultzen is scheduled to match up with fellow freshman Sean Gilmartin of FSU on Friday. Gilmartin has been impressive as well with a 3-0 record and 2.14 ERA this year.

Florida State (9-5, 1-2) won two midweek games against High Point this week, taking 18-4 and 4-3 contests. The Seminoles started ACC play last week at home and dropped two of three to Boston College. Holt leads the team with a .474 batting average. Ohmed Danesh (.357), Jason Stidham (.352) and D’Vontrey Richard (.351) all are batting over .350, while the Seminoles boast a team batting average of .334.

Florida State has dominated the all-time series with Virginia, 41-12. Last year, the Seminoles swept a three-game series in Tallahassee, but the Cavaliers rebounded to knock off FSU, 5-3, in the ACC Baseball Championship. The Seminoles have not been to Charlottesville since 2004 when they took two of three from the Cavaliers.

Notes on Saturday Baseball/Lacrosse
With both the top-ranked UVa men’s lacrosse team facing Towson and the No. 18 baseball team hosting No. 14 Florida State this Saturday at 1 p.m. Fans are encouraged to arrive early and to purchase their tickets in advance. Tickets are available online at VirginiaSports.com or may be ordered by calling 1-800-542-UVA1. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the athletics ticket office in Bryant Hall, Monday Friday from 9 a.m.5 p.m.

Tickets may be purchased on Saturday at the entrance to Klckner Stadium and Davenport Field. The events are ticketed separately. Reserved tickets for each game are $9 and general admission tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for youth, seniors, and UVa faculty and staff. The ticket booths will open at 11 a.m.

Parking is available for both games in the University Hall and John Paul Jones Arena parking lots.