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No. 1 Cavaliers Battle Duke This Weekend
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VIRGINIA CAVALIERS (33-3, 13-2 ACC)
Probable Starting Rotation
Fri. – LHP Danny Hultzen (7-0, 1.33 ERA)
Sun. G1 – RHP Tyler Wilson (4-0, 2.68 ERA)
Sun. G2 – RHP Will Roberts (7-0, 0.87 ERA)
DUKE BLUE DEVILS (20-16, 4-11 ACC)
Probable Starting Rotation
Fri. – LHP Dillon Haviland (2-2, 2.76 ERA)
Sun. G1 – RHP Dennis O’Grady (4-2, 4.70 ERA)
Sun. G2 – RHP Marcus Stroman (1-1, 2.55 ERA)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -The No. 1-ranked Virginia baseball team will take on Duke this weekend in a three-game ACC series at Davenport Field. Because of a forecast for inclement weather, the game times for this weekend have changed. The series will open at 6 p.m. Friday. The teams then will play a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. Sunday.
WINA 1070-AM in Charlottesville will handle the radio broadcast of the series. Live video and audio of all three games will be available at VirginiaSports.com (subscription required).
Tickets for the Saturday game will now be good for the second game Sunday. Separate tickets are required for each of the games on Sunday. Fans with tickets to both games are asked to bring both tickets to the game. Following the first game Sunday, fans with Reserved tickets in section 101-109 will be asked to walk to the grandstand concourse to have their other game ticket checked. Fans in General Admission seating will be asked to exit to the left- and right-field corners to have the tickets for the Saturday game checked.
Fans with tickets for the games on Friday and/or Saturday who are unable to attend because of the day and time changes may: (a) exchange their ticket in advance for a General Admission ticket to any other regular season game by calling the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office at (800) 542-8821 during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm., or (b) bring their ticket stubs to the gate for General Admission seating at any remaining regular season home game, subject to seat availability at the time of arrival.
Virginia (33-3, 13-2 ACC) has started the season with a 33-3 record, tying the best start in conference history and becoming just the fifth ACC team to start 33-3. The 1999 and 2007 Florida State teams and 1989 and 1995 Clemson teams each started 33-3 as well.
Virginia holds a one-game lead over Georgia Tech and North Carolina in the ACC Coastal Division entering the weekend. The Cavaliers come off one of their most thrilling wins of the season, an 8-7 walk-off victory over Coastal Carolina on Wednesday night. Trailing 7-5 entering the bottom of the ninth inning, Virginia scored three runs in the ninth, capped by the game-winning single by Steven Proscia (Jr., Suffern, N.Y.).
Proscia has been hot over the last six games, going 11-for-28 (.392) with four doubles, a homer and seven RBI. He has lifted his batting average to .356, which is tied with John Hicks (Jr., Sandy Hook, Va.) for the team lead. Proscia now has 162 career RBI and is just five shy of Sean Doolittle’s program record of 167 RBI.
Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor stands at 349 career wins entering the weekend. (349-121-1 in eight seasons). He is poised to reach 350 wins in the fewest number of games in ACC history; he has coached 471 games at UVa going into play Friday. Mike Martin of Florida State is the fastest in ACC history to reach 350 wins (while a member of the ACC). He needed 478 games in seven seasons from 1992 to 1998 to reach the mark.
Duke (20-16, 4-11) picked up a 7-5 midweek win over Davidson on Tuesday. The Blue Devils dropped two of three games in their home series with Boston College last weekend. Jeff Kremer leads Duke with a .380 batting average, while Anthony D’Alessandro is hitting .360. The Blue Devils are batting .292 as a team (fifth in the ACC) and have a 4.53 team ERA (eighth in the conference).
Virginia holds an 84-52-1 edge in its all-time series with Duke. UVa is 17-6 against Duke under the current coaching staff (since 2004). UVa swept the Blue Devils in three games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in 2010 (12-3, 11-1, 10-6).
Virginia will play two midweek games next week, traveling to Radford for a 6 p.m. Tuesday game before returning home to face Richmond at 6 p.m. Wednesday. The Cavaliers will play host to NC State next weekend in a three-game ACC series.