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No. 1 Cavaliers Visit NC State This Weekend
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VIRGINIA CAVALIERS (22-4, 7-2 ACC)
Probable Starting Rotation
Fri. – LHP Danny Hultzen (4-1, 1.58 ERA)
Sat. – RHP Robert Morey (3-1, 3.06 ERA)
Sun. – RHP Cody Winiarski (3-0, 4.85 ERA)
NC STATE WOLFPACK (16-9, 3-6 ACC)
Probable Starting Rotation
Fri. – RHP Jake Buchanan (3-2, 4.62 ERA)
Sat. – RHP Cory Mazzoni (3-1, 4.54 ERA)
Sun. – LHP Alex Sogard (0-1, 4.50 ERA)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The top-ranked Virginia baseball team hits the road this weekend for a three-game ACC series at North Carolina State. The series begins at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Doak Field at Dail Park in Raleigh. Game two is slated for 6:30 p.m. Saturday, with the finale set for 1 p.m. on Easter Sunday.
The Friday and Sunday games will air on WINA 1070-AM, while all three games will be available through a V Pass subscription on VirginiaSports.com. Live video of the Saturday and Sunday games will be streamed online and linked to VirginiaSports.com.
Virginia (22-4, 7-2 ACC) won both of its midweek games against Towson this week, scoring an 8-5 win Tuesday and a 17-4 victory Wednesday. Virginia finished its best March in program history with a 16-3 record.
The Cavaliers have won all three of their ACC series thus far, marking the first time UVa has captured three straight ACC series to start a season. In order to get their fourth straight series win, Virginia will need to earn their first-ever series win at NC State. The Cavaliers have lost all 10 of their previous series in Raleigh since the ACC went to the three-game weekend series format in 1990.
This series will feature the top two offenses in the ACC this season. NC State (16-9, 3-6) leads the conference with a .349 batting average, while the Cavaliers stand second at .345.
Virginia’s pitching staff boasts a 3.45 ERA, which ranks third in the ACC. NC State has a 5.65 team ERA – ninth in the conference. Entering the week Virginia’s pitchers had given up an average of 7.61 hits per nine innings – fourth fewest in the nation.
The Cavaliers have been one of the nation’s top fielding teams as well. With a team fielding percentage of .979, UVa ranks eighth nationally in that category.
Virginia is making its third weekend road trip of the season. The Cavaliers already boast road series wins at then-No. 11 East Carolina and then-No. 2 Florida State. Overall, UVa is 6-2 on the road this year. NC State has been strong at home this year, going 11-2 with its lone losses coming to Miami last weekend.
The Wolfpack topped Old Dominion, 7-3, Wednesday. Kyle Wilson ranks second in the ACC in batting with a .427 average. Andrew Ciencin (.385) and Dallas Poulk (.385) rank second and third on the team, respectively, in batting.
NC State holds a 117-65-1 edge in the all-time series against Virginia. After dropping seven straight series to the Wolfpack, UVa won two of three games against the Pack last year in Charlottesville.