Virginia Entertains Towson in Two-Game Midweek Series

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia baseball team looks to build on its four-game winning streak this week when it plays host to Towson for a two-game midweek series. The teams will play at 5 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday at Davenport Field.

The live audio broadcast for both games will be available on VirginiaSports.com through Cavaliers Live (subscription required). Live GameTracker links also can be located at VirginiaSports.com.

The first game is a $2 Tuesday, with $2 hot dogs and sodas available at the concession stands throughout the evening.

Virginia (15-8-1, 5-4 ACC) finished off a three-game series sweep of Clemson Sunday afternoon with a 5-3 victory over the Tigers at Davenport Field. UVa swept Clemson for the second-consecutive year and now has won seven straight against the Tigers.

Virginia’s starting pitchers all recorded quality starts in the series, with Scott Silverstein (Sr., Olney, Md.), Branden Kline (Jr., Frederick, Md.) and Artie Lewicki (So., Wyckoff, N.J.) all working at least 6.0 innings and giving up two runs or fewer.

RHP Shane Halley (Sr., Burke, Va.) is slated to start Tuesday for Virginia, while RHP Barrett O’Neill (Fr., Ashland, Mass.) will make his third-consecutive Wednesday start for the Cavaliers.

Keith Werman (Sr., Vienna, Va.) led the Cavaliers at the plate in the Clemson series by going 6-for-10 with four RBI. Werman has been UVa’s hottest hitter of late, with a .481 batting average (13-for-27) over the last 10 games. He also knocked in seven runs during that time.

Jared King (Sr., Radford, Va.) went 6-for-13 with a .591 on base percentage in UVa’s five games last week. He ranks seventh in the ACC with a team-high .381 batting average. King also has knocked in a team-best 27 runs this season.

Virginia currently leads the ACC in batting at .314; Georgia Tech ranks second at .304. The Cavaliers are sixth in the league in ERA at 3.29 and have moved up to second in the conference in fielding with a .972 mark.

Towson enters the series with a 12-10 record after winning two of three games at Delaware last week in CAA play. The Tigers currently are second in the CAA with a 6-3 record. Dominic Fratantuono leads the team with a .413 batting average and nine extra-base hits. Brendan Butler is hitting .364 with a team-high 16 RBI.

Towson is batting .271 as a team, holds a 3.99 team ERA and owns a .968 fielding percentage.

Virginia holds a 12-2 record in its series with Towson. This marks the fifth-consecutive year that the two programs have met for a two-game midweek series; after the teams split the 2008 series, UVa has swept the last three series, including a pair of shutouts last year (6-0, 5-0).

The Cavaliers continue ACC play Friday through Sunday at NC State, which is ranked as high as No. 9 nationally in the latest polls.