No. 5 Baseball Heads to Virginia Tech for Three-Game Series

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April 25, 2013

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 5 Virginia baseball team continues ACC play this weekend with a three-game series at Virginia Tech. Game times are 5:30 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.

Broadcast Information
Links to video broadcasts, provided by Virginia Tech, will be available for all three games on VirginiaSports.com. There is a fee associated with these broadcasts. Live statistics also will be available on VirginiaSports.com.

Live audio will be available on VirginiaSports.com via a Cavaliers Live subscription.

WINA 1070-AM will have the live radio broadcast of the Saturday and Sunday games; the Friday broadcast only will be available on VirginiaSports.com. Select stations across the Virginia Sports Radio Network will air the UVa Baseball “Game of the Week” each Saturday. The following stations will carry UVA baseball this spring:

Charlottesville: WINA 1070-AM
Richmond: WRNL 910-AM
Lynchburg: WZZI 97.9-FM
Mount Jackson: WSVG 790-AM
Martinsville: WHEE 1370-AM
Petersburg: WHAP 1340-AM
Winchester: WXVA 610-AM

Virginia in the Latest National Rankings
Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, NCBWA, Perfect Game, USA Today Coaches – 5

Virginia Cavaliers (37-6, 16-5 ACC)
Probable Starting Rotation
Fri. – Fr. LHP Brandon Waddell (3-1, 3.42 ERA)
Sat. – R-Sr. LHP Scott Silverstein (7-0, 3.00 ERA)
Sun. – So. RHP Nick Howard (5-3, 2.15 ERA)

Virginia Tech Hokies (25-17, 9-12 ACC)
Probable Starting Rotation
Fri. – RHP Brad Markey (3-3, 5.82 ERA)
Sat. – LHP Joe Mantiply (3-0, 3.60 ERA)
Sun. – TBA

Virginia-Virginia Tech Series
Virginia holds a 91-76 advantage in the all-time series with the Hokies. The Cavaliers won two of three games against Virginia Tech last season in Charlottesville (March 9-11).

UVa won all three games decisively in 2011 in its last trip to Blacksburg (18-3, 9-3, 10-2) and has has won 18 of the 22 meetings with Virginia Tech since Brian O’Connor’s first year in 2004.

Four Intrastate Opponents on Docket Before Finals Week
Virginia’s final six games heading into finals week all are against in-state opponents, including a three-game series at Virginia Tech this weekend. Under the current coaching staff (since 2004), the Cavaliers have an 88-13-1 record against in-state opponents.

UVa is 7-1 this year against foes from the commonwealth of Virginia after wins over Richmond and James Madison this week.

Plenty of Close Games in April
Twelve of Virginia’s 15 April games have been decided by three runs or fewers, including five one-run games; UVa is 9-3 in those games. UVa had nine games decided by three runs or fewer in Feburary and March.

Virginia Slows the Running Game
Virginia has shown the propensity to shut down its opponents’ running games this year. UVa has allowed just 23 stolen base attempts in 43 games, with 13 successful steals. The Cavaliers also have picked off 11 baserunners.

UVa has given up one stolen base in its last 11 games, the last coming Tuesday to Richmond. No teams attempted a stolen base against UVa in a nine-game stretch from April 8-21.

UVa allowed three stolen bases to Maryland, which entered with 44 steals in 12 games, and none to NC State, who entered with 47 stolen bases in 53 attempts.

Back on the Road
After playing 23 of its first 28 games at Davenport Field, Virginia is playing 11 of its 19 games in the month of April on the road. UVa is 12-3 in April (5-2 on the road), with 10 of the 13 being decided by two runs or fewer.

UVa is playing three of its four April ACC series on the road (Wake Forest, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech). The Cavaliers are 9-3 on the road in 2013, including series wins at East Carolina, Clemson and Wake Forest.

Noting the Hokies
Virginia Tech is 25-17 overall and 9-12 in the ACC this season. The Hokies boast one of the ACC’s top offenses this year, including 36 home runs, which is third in the league. They have four batters who rank amongst the ACC’s top 25 in batting, topped by Chad Pinder, who ranks 15th with a .339 average. Andrew Rash is tied for the ACC lead with 17 doubles and also has seven homers and a .325 batting average.

Virginia Tech ranks fourth in the ACC with a .288 batting average. The Hokies are 11th in the conference with a 4.47 team ERA and a .959 fielding percentage.

Up Next
Virginia plays VCU at The Diamond in Richmond at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Following the game the Cavaliers head into a nine-day break for final exams and will not play again until May 10 at home against Duke.