No. 21 Virginia Plays Host to Georgia Tech This Weekend
Story Links
VIRGINIA CAVALIERS (32-14-1, 14-10)
Probable Starting Rotation
Fri. – RHP Branden Kline (6-3, 3.52 ERA)
Sat. – LHP Scott Silverstein (2-4, 3.78 ERA)
Sun. – RHP Artie Lewicki (3-2, 4.30 ERA)
GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS (30-19, 10-14)
Probable Starting Rotation
Fri. – RHP Buck Farmer (7-3, 3.20 ERA)
Sat. – LHP Jake Davies (0-1, 3.45 ERA)
Sun. – RHP Cole Pitts (4-4, 4.60 ERA)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Winners of eight-consecutive games, the No. 21 Virginia baseball returns to ACC play this weekend as it entertains Georgia Tech in a three-game series at Davenport Field. The series opens at 6 p.m. Friday and continues at 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
The series is key in the ACC standings. Virginia (32-14-1, 14-10 ACC) currently is second in the Coastal Division and tied with Clemson for fourth overall. Georgia Tech (30-19, 10-14) is tied with Virginia Tech for seventh overall, one game ahead of ninth-place Wake Forest. The top eight teams in the final ACC standings advance to the conference tournament, slated for May 23-27 in Greensboro, N.C.
Broadcast Information
The Saturday contest will be televised by the ACC’s Regional Sports Networks and will air live on these networks across the country:
– CSN Mid-Atlantic
– FS South
– Sun Sports
– NESN
– FS Arizona Plus
– FS North
– FS Prime Ticket
The Saturday game also will be streamed online via ESPN3.com.
The Friday and Sunday games will be aired via Cavaliers Live webcasts at VirginiaSports.com (subscription required). WINA 1070-AM will have the live radio broadcast Friday and Saturday; the Saturday game also will air on several stations across the Virginia Sports Radio Network (check local listings). The audio broadcast for the Sunday game only will be available on VirginiaSports.com.
Live statistics also will be available for all three games at VirginiaSports.com.
Parking Information
Fans should note that PVCC’s graduation ceremonies are scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday at John Paul Jones Arena which will cause more congestion in the area. Fans are encouraged to allow extra time to arrive in advance of the start of Friday’s baseball game.
A $5 cash charge will be in effect for the U-Hall, JPJA and McCue parking lots on Sunday because UVa is hosting a first-round game of the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championships at Klöckner Stadium. This charge applies to baseball and men’s lacrosse fans. Free parking will be available in the Emmet/Ivy Garage on Sunday.
Promotions
This is Fan Appreciation Weekend at Davenport Field. Prizes will be awarded randomly throughout the weekend to fans in attendance as well as fans with the highest attendance during the season.
On Friday the final trading card set will be issued to the first 750 fans in attendance. Friday also is a TGIF Friday, with the first 50 UVa students receiving a voucher for a free hot dog and soda.
On Sunday there will be postgame autographs with the team as well running the bases.
Senior Day
Virginia will honor its five fourth-year players at 12:35 p.m. Sunday in Senior Day ceremonies. Shane Halley, Jared King, Scott Silverstein, Justin Thompson and Keith Werman all will be honored on the field prior to the game.
Noting the Series
Virginia shook off the rust of an eight-day layoff for final exams by rolling to a 12-3 victory over High Point Wednesday evening at Davenport Field.
Nate Irving (Fr., Yonkers, N.Y.) paced the Cavaliers’ 11-hit night with a 3-for-3 effort. He also scored three times and drove in two. Stephen Bruno (Jr., Audubon, N.J.) and Chris Taylor (Jr., Virginia Beach, Va.) each had two hits and a pair of RBI. Bruno lifted his batting average to .363, which leads the team and ranks fifth in the ACC.
Virginia ranks first in the ACC in batting (.302) and fielding (.973). UVa is tied for fifth in the league with a 3.27 team ERA. Georgia Tech is tied for second in the ACC in batting at .300, ranks 10th in ERA (4.40) and 11th in fielding (.961).
Georgia Tech has won four straight games and seven of its last nine as it enters the weekend. Brandon Thomas ranks fourth in the ACC with a .366 batting average, while Sam Dove is hitting .349. Daniel Palka leads the team with 11 home runs, which ranks third in the ACC, while Jake Davies has a league-high 54 RBI to go with a .335 batting average.
Georgia Tech owns a 64-42-2 series edge over Virginia, although UVa is 15-9-1 against the Yellow Jackets since the current coaching staff took over in 2004. Last year the Cavaliers took two of three in Atlanta, marking the Cavaliers’ second straight series win over Georgia Tech. Recent games have been extremely tight – 20 of the 25 games since 2004 have been decided by three runs or fewer (10 by one run or a tie).
Virginia wraps up its regular-season home schedule at 6 p.m. Tuesday when it plays host to VCU. The Cavaliers travel to Maryland next Thursday through Saturday for a three-game ACC series to conclude the regular season.