No. 5 Baseball Plays at 5 p.m. Wednesday vs. Towson
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March 26, 2013
| No. 5 Virginia vs. Towson | |
| Date/Time | Wed., March 27 | 5 p.m. |
| Location | Charlottesville, Va. | Davenport Field (4,980) |
| Multimedia | GameTracker | Live Video ($) |
| More Information | Purchase Tickets | Twitter | Coach O’Connor Twitter | Facebook |
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Ranked as high as fifth nationally this week, the Virginia baseball team takes on Towson at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Davenport Field. The Cavaliers (22-2) have won six straight games following a three-game series sweep of NC State last weekend.
Freshman RHP Trey Oest (Dover, Fla.) is scheduled to start on the mound for Virginia, while freshman RHP Nik Nowottnick will start for Towson.
Broadcast Information
A video broadcast will be available at VirginiaSports.com via a Cavaliers Live subscription. Live statistics (GameTracker) also will be available at VirginiaSports.com.
Virginia in the Latest National Rankings
Collegiate Baseball – 5
USA Today Coaches, Perfect Game – 8
Baseball America, NCBWA – 9
Noting the Virginia-Towson Series
Virginia holds a 14-2 series edge against Towson and has won eight straight games against the Tigers. The programs have met in a two-game midweek series in each of the previous five years.
UVa downed the Tigers 8-0 and 19-5 last season at Davenport Field.
Cavaliers Pull Out Series Sweep of NC State
Virginia swept its three-game series against NC State last weekend at Davenport Field, marking the Cavaliers’ first-ever three-game series sweep against the Wolfpack. UVa won both ends of a doubleheader Saturday, 8-2 and 4-3, before winning 6-3 Sunday.
Virginia was strong at the plate during the series, batting .323 as a team. Nate Irving (So., Yonkers, N.Y.) was 4-for-7 with a pair of doubles in the series, while Nick Howard (So., Olney, Md.) was 6-for-12 and Joe McCarthy 4-for-10.
UVa’s pitching was strong, with the bullpen allowing just one run, five hits and no walks in 12 innings.
Noting Towson
Towson owns a 13-9 record after dropping two of three games in its series last weekend at Old Dominion. The Tigers already own a series win at Duke this year.
Dominic Fratantuono leads the team with a .414 batting average, 36 hits and 26 RBI. Peter Bowles also is hitting .347 for the Tigers, who are batting .277 as a team. Towson has a team ERA of 4.28 and owns a .977 fielding percentage.
No Free Passes
Virginia pitchers make opposing batters earn their way on base. The Virginia pitching staff has issued just 49 walks in 24 games, by far the fewest walks allowed in the ACC this year. Clemson is second with 70 walks in 23 games.
UVa allows just 2.03 walks per nine innings, which is third best nationally. On the flip side, Towson has walked 129 times this year, which ranks ninth best nationally.
The Cavaliers also have hit only nine batters this year.
Virginia Atop National Rankings in Triples
The Cavaliers lead the 298 Division I teams in triples this week. UVa owns 21 triples – more than twice as many as any other ACC team.
Arizona is second nationally with 19 triples, while James Madison has 16 and ranks third.
Cavaliers Stop Opponents’ Running Game
Virginia has done a tremendous job of shutting down their opponents’ running game this year. UVa has allowed just 12 stolen base attempts in 24 games, with seven successful steals (tops in ACC). Miami has allowed the second-fewest stolen bases in the conference, giving up 15.
The Cavaliers have slowed the ACC’s top two running teams, Maryland and NC State. UVa surrendered three stolen bases to Maryland, which entered with 44 steals in 12 games, and then held NC State without a steal. The Wolfpack entered with 47 stolen bases in 53 attempts.
Up Next
Virginia returns to ACC action this weekend when it entertains Miami in a three-game series. The Cavaliers and Hurricanes will play at 6 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The Saturday contest will be televised by the ACC’s Regional Sports Networks.