No. 13 Cavaliers Head North to Face Boston College

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. The No. 13 Virginia baseball team travels to Boston College this weekend for a key three-game ACC series at Eddie Pellagrini Diamond at Commander Shea Field in Chestnut Hill, Mass. The first game will start at 2:30 p.m. Friday and will be webcast by ACC Select. The teams also will play at 1:30 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday.

The teams, while competing in separate divisions in the ACC, are separated by just one-half game overall. Virginia (28-7-1) enters the weekend with a 9-6-1 ACC mark, while Boston College (23-13) is 9-7 in the conference.

The pitching matchups for the weekend are (UVa pitchers listed first):
Fri. – LHP Danny Hultzen (5-0, 2.39 ERA) vs. RHP JB MacDonald (4-3, 2.70 ERA)
Sat. – RHP Andrew Carraway (4-0, 2.98 ERA) vs. RHP John Leonard (1-1, 6.88 ERA)
Sun. – RHP Robert Morey (0-0, 3.63 ERA) vs. RHP Pat Dean (4-2, 3.67 ERA)

Virginia, which leads the league in batting (.355) and pitching (3.12), also paces the conference in batting in ACC games only. UVa is hitting .354 in ACC contests. The Cavaliers also are third in ERA in ACC games only with a 4.80 mark.

UVa’s offense has been dominated by its freshmen and sophomores. In all, 83 percent (380 total) of the Cavaliers’ hits this year have come from underclassmen (78 hits from upperclassmen). Freshmen and sophomores also account for 83 percent of the team’s runs and RBI.

At the forefront of the Cavaliers’ offense is leadoff hitter Jarrett Parker (So., Stafford, Va.). He leads the nation with 56 runs scored and has scored at least one run in 30 of 36 games. Parker needs just four more runs to match the school single-season runs record of 60, set by Mark Reynolds (2004) and David Guy (1988).

Phil Gosselin (So., West Chester, Pa.) has been the Cavaliers’ top run-producer this year with an ACC-high 48 RBI more than doubling his 2008 total of 20 (40 games). Gosselin also is batting .375.

If recent scores are of any indication, the Cavaliers will be in for some close games. Ten of UVa’s last 11 ACC games have been decided by three runs or fewer. Five of UVa’s six ACC losses have come by one run; the other defeat was by two runs. Five of the six losses came to top-10 teams (UNC, Miami, Georgia Tech).

Virginia leads the all-time series, 8-0. UVa won all three games last season in Charlottesville. In the Cavaliers’ first-ever trip to Chestnut Hill two years ago, UVa won both games in a rain-shortened series.