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No. 25 Virginia Travels to Duke This Weekend
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VIRGINIA CAVALIERS (24-13-1, 9-9)
Probable Starting Rotation
Fri. – RHP Branden Kline (5-2, 3.02 ERA)
Sat. – LHP Scott Silverstein (2-4, 2.79 ERA)
Sat. – RHP Artie Lewicki (1-2, 4.85 ERA)
DUKE BLUE DEVILS (14-24, 6-12)
Probable Starting Rotation
Fri. – RHP Marcus Stroman (3-3, 2.05 ERA)
Sat. – LHP Trent Swart (3-5, 4.05 ERA)
Sat. – RHP Robert Huber (4-3, 3.35 ERA)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 25 Virginia baseball team hits the road this weekend for a three-game conference series at Duke. The series will be contested in downtown Durham, N.C., at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, home of the triple-A Durham Bulls.
The weekend schedule has changed because of the threat for inclement weather on Sunday. The teams will face off at 6 p.m. Friday and then will play a doubleheader beginning at noon Saturday. There will be no game on Sunday.
Links to live video and audio (subscription required) as well as live statistics will be available throughout the weekend at VirginiaSports.com. Audio for the Friday contest will be available online online. The first game Saturday will air across several stations along the Virginia Sports Radio Network, including WINA 1070-AM in the Charlottesville area. WINA also will broadcast the second contest Saturday.
The series marks the beginning of a stretch of nine games in 12 days for the Cavaliers leading up to a break for final exams. Seven of the nine games will be on the road.
Virginia (24-13-1, 9-9 ACC) defeated Richmond, 7-5, on Tuesday night to get back on the winning track after a three-game sweep last weekend at the hands of North Carolina. UVa fell behind 3-0 in the first inning, but quickly bounced back with four runs in the bottom of the first. The Cavaliers scored two seventh-inning runs that provided the final difference.
Stephen Bruno (Jr., Audubon, N.J.) has been UVa’s hottest hitter of late, racking up a 10-game hitting streak and batting .439 (18-for-41) with 12 runs and 13 RBI during that stretch. He went 5-for-12 (.417) with three RBI during the UNC series and now leads the team with a .351 batting average this year.
Bruno is 10th in the ACC in batting, while Jared King (Jr., Radford, Va.) ranks 18th with a .331 average. Bruno is batting .357 in ACC games, which is fourth best in the conference.
Despite the tough weekend against UNC, Virginia continues to lead the ACC in batting with a .306 team average as well as fielding with a .974 mark. The Cavaliers stand fifth in ERA in the ACC with a 3.32 ERA.
Duke (14-24, 6-12) dropped two of three games at Maryland last week, then fell 8-6 at home to Davidson on Tuesday. Andy Perez and Will Piwnica-Worms lead the team with a .310 batting average, while Mike Rosenfeld owns a .308 average. The Blue Devils boast one of the top starting pitchers in college baseball, right-hander Marcus Stroman, who owns a 3-3 record, 2.05 ERA and NCAA-best 93 strikeouts this year. He will start Friday night against UVa right-hander Branden Kline (Jr., Frederick, Md.).
Duke ranks 12th in the ACC in batting with a .265 average and 11th in pitching with a 4.49 team ERA. The Blue Devils are eighth in the conference with a .969 fielding percentage.
Virginia holds an 87-52-1 edge in its all-time series with Duke. UVa is 20-6 against Duke under the current coaching staff (since 2004) and has won nine straight contests against the Blue Devils, dating to 2009.
The Cavaliers swept Duke last year at Davenport Field, with a 3-2, 11-inning victory sandwiched between 10-0 and 18-4 blowouts. UVa swept the Blue Devils in three games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in 2010.
Virginia continues its busy stretch next week as it plays host to Radford at 6 p.m. Tuesday and travels to VCU at 7 p.m. Wednesday.