No. 4 Baseball Travels to Liberty, Hosts VMI in Midweek Action
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April 1, 2013
| No. 4 Virginia at Liberty/VMI at No. 4 Virginia | |
| Date/Time | Tuesday, 6 p.m. | Wednesday, 6 p.m. |
| Location (Tuesday) | Lynchburg, Va. | Liberty Baseball Stadium (2,500) |
| Location (Wednesday) | Charlottesville, Va. | Davenport Field (4,980) |
| Live Video | ESPN3 (Tuesday) | Cavaliers Live (Wednesday) |
| GameTracker | Virginia-Liberty | Virginia-VMI |
More Information Game Notes | Tickets | Twitter | Coach O’Connor Twitter | Facebook
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Ranked as high as fourth nationally this week, the Virginia baseball team (25-3, 9-3 ACC) has a busy week ahead as it plays at Liberty Tuesday and at home against VMI Wednesday. Both games begin at 6 p.m.
The Cavaliers’ contest with Liberty is sold out at Liberty Baseball Stadium.
Broadcast Information
WINA 1070-AM will have the live radio broadcast for both contests. Links to live statistics also will be available at VirginiaSports.com.
The Tuesday game at Liberty will be available online via ESPN3. VirginiaSports.com also will have the audio broadcast via a Cavaliers Live subscription.
A live video broadcast will be available Wednesday through Cavaliers Live on VirginiaSports.com.
Virginia in the Latest National Rankings
Collegiate Baseball – 4
Baseball America, Perfect Game – 5
NCBWA – 6
USA Today Coaches – 8
Virginia’s Probable Starting Pitchers
Tue. – Fr. RHP Josh Sborz (2-0, 0.93 ERA)
Wed. – Fr. RHP Trey Oest (4-0, 1.35 ERA)
Virginia-Liberty Series
Virginia owns a 30-20-1 edge in its series with Liberty. UVa is making its first trip to Lynchburg since April 5, 2005, a 10-2 Cavaliers’ win.
The Cavaliers downed Liberty, 7-2, on March 13 in Charlottesville and have won nine of their last 10 games against the Flames. Liberty ended an eight-game losing streak to Virginia last season with an 8-0 win at Davenport Field.
Virginia-VMI Series
Virginia holds a 101-29 advantage in the series with VMI. UVa has won 10 of the last 12 meetings and 14 straight home games against the Keydets (last home loss on March 6, 1990). The Cavaliers picked up a 12-3 win over VMI last season at Davenport Field (March 21).
Cavaliers Popular in Midweek Road Games
Virginia has been a big draw during its intrastate road games over the past few years, setting attendance records at five schools. The Liberty game sold out last week, filling the 2,500-seat Liberty Baseball Stadium.
With Virginia as the opponent since 2010, school attendance records have been set at William and Mary (3/10/10, 1,304), James Madison (3/17/10, 1,815), VMI (4/14/10, 1,463), Radford (4/19/11, 1,373) and VCU (5/3/11, 5,421). The VCU mark also was a state record for a college baseball game.
Virginia Battles Pair of In-State Opponents This Week
Under the current coaching staff (since 2004), the Cavaliers have a 83-12-1 record against in-state opponents. UVa is 2-0 this year against foes from the commonwealth of Virginia.
Lock-Down Bullpen
Virginia’s bullpen has been outstanding of late, allowing just an earned run, 15 hits and four walks in the last 35 1/3 innings of work (0.25 ERA, .129 BAA). UVa’s pen did not allow a run in 13 innings in the Miami series.
The Cavaliers’ relief corps has a 1.84 ERA this year while limiting opponents to a .203 batting average.
Road Warriors
After playing 23 of their first 28 games in the friendly confines of Davenport Field, the Cavaliers will become road tested over the month of April. Beginning Tuesday night at Liberty, UVa will play 11 of its next 19 games on the road.
Virginia will play three of its four April ACC series on the road against Wake Forest, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. UVa’s lone home ACC series in the month is April 19-21 against Florida State.
Noting Liberty
After taking two of three games at home against Longwood last weekend, Liberty is 17-11 this year, including a 12-2 mark at the new Liberty Baseball Stadium. Trey Wimmer leads the team with a .362 batting average and 10 doubles, while Bryan Aanderud is hitting .336 with 22 RBI.
Liberty is batting .277 as a team, owns a 4.25 team ERA and a .977 fielding percentage.
Noting VMI
VMI owns a 13-17 record this year after dropping two of three games at Coastal Carolina last weekend. The Keydets picked up a big midweek victory last week, winning 8-0 at Virginia Tech.
Rob Dickinson leads the team with a .390 batting average and 27 RBI. VMI is hitting .299 as a team, has a 4.48 team ERA and a fields at a .956 clip.
Up Next
Virgina heads to Wake Forest Saturday through Monday (April 6-8) for the Cavaliers’ first ACC series in Winston-Salem since 2009. The Monday evening contest will be televised by ESPNU.