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No. 1 Virginia Baseball Visits Duke This Weekend
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VIRGINIA CAVALIERS (36-9, 15-6 ACC)
Probable Starting Rotation
Fri. – LHP Danny Hultzen (6-1, 2.00 ERA)
Sat. – RHP Robert Morey (6-2, 3.98 ERA)
Sun. – RHP Cody Winiarski (5-0, 3.96 ERA)
DUKE BLUE DEVILS (25-18, 7-14 ACC)
Probable Starting Rotation
Fri. – RHP Dennis O’Grady (0-3, 4.56 ERA)
Sat. – RHP Marcus Stroman (5-1, 3.79 ERA)
Sun. – LHP Eric Pfisterer (3-4, 5.53 ERA)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The top-ranked Virginia baseball team continues ACC play this weekend when it travels to Duke for a three-game series in Durham, N.C. All three games will be played at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, home of the triple-A Durham Bulls and site of Virginia’s ACC Championship in 2009. Game one will start at 6 p.m. Friday. The second game will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday, with the finale scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday.
WINA 1070-AM will have the live broadcast of all three games, with Dave Koehn and Jay Jenkins on the call. The audio broadcast also will be streamed online at VirginiaSports.com (with V Pass subscription).
Virginia (36-9, 15-6 ACC) puts its seven-game win streak on the line this weekend. With three ACC series remaining, the Cavaliers are tied for second place in the ACC Coastal Division with Miami, with both teams standing a game behind first-place Georgia Tech.
The Cavaliers’ offense has produced in a big way during the seven-game win streak. UVa has scored in double figures in five of the seven wins. Phil Gosselin (Jr., West Chester, Pa.), after scoring six hits and seven RBI in the two midweek wins this past week, has raised his batting average to .394, which ranks fourth in the ACC. He paces a Virginia offense which leads the ACC with a .341 batting average. The Cavaliers’ pitching staff also leads the ACC with a 3.63 team ERA.
Virginia has sprayed the ball all over the field this year and ranks among the nation’s leaders in triples and doubles (ACC leader in both). Entering the week UVa was second nationally to Arizona State with 25 triples; the Sun Devils have 26 triples. The Cavaliers also were seventh in doubles with 114 (Texas Tech leads with 129).
Virginia’s starting rotation has produced 12 ACC wins this season – most of any ACC team. Danny Hultzen (So., Bethesda, Md.), Robert Morey (Jr., Virginia Beach, Va.) and Cody Winiarski (Jr., Franksville, Wis.) own four wins apiece, each of which is tied for tops in the ACC in conference games. Only four other pitchers in the ACC have four wins in league games.
Duke (25-18, 7-14 ACC) won both of its midweek games, taking a 2-1 home contest with North Carolina A&T before winning 13-11 at High Point. Will Piwnica-Worms leads the Blue Devils with a .327 bating average, while Jake Lemmerman is batting .315 and is tied with Will Currier with a team-high nine home runs. The Blue Devils are batting .283 as a team (10th in the ACC) and have a 5.37 team ERA (ninth in the ACC).
Virginia holds an 81-52-1 edge in its all-time series with Duke. UVa won two of three in Charlottesville last season, then defeated the Blue Devils 11-7 in the ACC Tournament. Duke won two of three against UVa in the Cavaliers’ last ACC trip to Durham, marking the Blue Devils’ first series win against UVa since 1998.
Virginia has fond memories of Durham Bulls Athletic Park – UVa won each of its last two ACC Championships at DBAP (1996, 2009). UVa is 9-6 all-time at DBAP, which opened in 1995.
The Cavaliers return to Davenport Field Tuesday for a 6 p.m. game with VCU before taking a nine-day break for final exams.