No. 12 Virginia Concludes Homestand Wednesday vs. Liberty

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March 12, 2013

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia baseball team concludes a 14-game homestand at 5 p.m. Wednesday when it takes on Liberty at Davenport Field. The Cavaliers are ranked as high as 12th nationally this week by Collegiate Baseball.

Live video of the game will be available via a Cavaliers Live subscription at VirginiaSports.com. A GameTracker link also will be available at VirginiaSports.com.

Virginia-Liberty Series
Virginia owns a 29-20-1 edge in its series with Liberty. The Flames ended an eight-game losing streak to Virginia last year with an 8-0 win at Davenport Field.

The teams will play again April 2 at Liberty, marking the Cavaliers’ first trip to Lynchburg since the 2005 season.

Virginia Takes Two of Three to Start ACC Play
Virginia opened ACC play by taking two of three games against Maryland last weekend at Davenport Field. It marked the fifth straight year that the Cavaliers won their opening ACC series.

UVa swept a doubleheader Saturday, winning the opener, 7-6, on a Derek Fisher walkoff double, before three pitchers combined to shut out the Terrapins, 5-0, in the nightcap.

The Cavaliers left 15 runners on base and committed three errors Sunday as they dropped their first game of the year, 4-2. Fisher went 4-for-9 in the series, while Nick Howard was 4-for-11.

Noting Liberty
The Flames are 10-5 this year after dropping two of three games last weekend at Georgia. Liberty played at William and Mary Tuesday prior to its trip to Charlottesville. The Flames have played a tough early schedule, losing two of three games at South Carolina to open the season as well as a road game at East Carolina (14-4 win).

The Flames have a trio of batters who are hitting over .350. Bryan Aanderud leads the team with a .358 batting average, while Ryan Cordell is hitting .355 with two homers and a team-best 18 RBI. Nick Lacik is hitting .353.

Liberty owns a .285 batting average, a 3.40 team ERA and a stout .978 fielding percentage.

Cavaliers Tough at Home
Off to a 12-1 home start this year, Virginia is 136-29 at Davenport Field since 2009. That equates to an 82.4 winning percentage. UVa was 26-10 at home last year, after setting the school record for home victories each of the previous two years (34 in 2010, 35 in 2011).

Virginia Tackles Second In-State Opponent of 2013
Under the current coaching staff (since 2004), the Cavaliers have a 82-12-1 record against in-state opponents, including an 11-2 win over William and Mary on Feb. 19. Virginia went 8-2-1 in 2012 versus foes from the commonwealth of Virginia.

Starters Shine in First Month
Virginia’s starting pitchers have excelled over the first four weeks of the season. UVa’s starters own a 9-1 record and 1.41 ERA this year, while batters have hit just .229 against them, including only nine extra-base hits. The Cavaliers racked up a streak of 42 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings which ran from Feb. 16-March 2.

Offense Slow at First, Then Gets Rolling
While Virginia’s offense has been strong this year, it typically takes a few innings for it to get going. Of UVa’s 133 runs, 105 have come after the third inning (80 percent). The Cavaliers’ most dominant innings: the fifth (outscored 25-3), seventh (21-6) and eighth (24-3).

UVa averages 8.8 runs per game, outscoring its opponents 133-39, and has trailed after the sixth inning in just two games.

Up Next
UVa hits the road for the first time in ACC play this weekend (March 15-17) when it ventures to Clemson.