Virginia Travels to Virginia Tech for Weekend ACC Series

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March 12, 2015

Virginia Cavaliers (12-2, 2-1 ACC)
Probable Starting Rotation
Fri. – Jr. LHP Nathan Kirby (3-1, 0.71 ERA)
Sat. – So. RHP Connor Jones (4-0, 0.78 ERA)
Sun – Jr. LHP Brandon Waddell (1-0, 1.80 ERA)

Virginia Tech Hokies (7-9, 1-2 ACC)
Probable Starting Rotation
Fri. – Sr. LHP LHP Sean Keselica (2-1, 2.74 ERA)
Sat. – So. RHP Aaron McGarity (1-1, 4.85 ERA)
Sun – Jr. LHP Jon Woodcock (2-1, 3.38 ERA)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia baseball team travels to Virginia Tech this weekend for a three-game ACC series at English Field. The teams are slated to play at noon Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. Please note the Friday game time has been altered from the original 5:30 p.m. start because of a probability for inclement weather later in the day.

Live Audio/Statistics
Live audio will be available online at VirginiaSports.com for each game of the series as part of the Cavaliers Live subscription package. Live statistics (GameTracker) will be available all weekend. The audio and live stats also can be accessed through the Virginia Sports app, which is available through iTunes.

WINA 1070-AM will have the radio broadcast of the Saturday and Sunday games.

Virginia in the Latest National Rankings
USA Today Coaches, NCBWA – 1
Perfect Game – 2
D1Baseball, Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball – 3

Commonwealth Clash
The weekend series is part of the Commonwealth Clash between Virginia and Virginia Tech. UVa currently holds a 7.5-5.5 lead in the Commonwealth Clash; the winning school in the series receives one point.

The Commonwealth Clash presented by Virginia529 is a head-to-head, points-based competition between the athletic teams at University of Virginia and Virginia Tech. The Commonwealth Clash encourages a friendly, statewide rivalry between the two schools across all school-sponsored sports with 21 individual event points on the line. Fans are also encouraged to support their team through a fan-based point. The school that accumulates 11.5 points or more will be crowned the winner and take home the Virginia529 Commonwealth Clash trophy. Visit www.TheCommonwealthClash.com for more information and updated standings.

Virginia-Virginia Tech Series
Virginia holds a 95-79 advantage in the all-time series with the Hokies. The Cavaliers swept a three-game series versus Virginia Tech last year in Charlottesville. Virginia Tech won two of three games in the 2013 series against UVa at English Field.

UVa is 22-7 against Virginia Tech since Brian O’Connor‘s first year in 2004.

Virginia Against In-State Opponents
Since 2004, the Cavaliers have a 104-19-1 record against in-state foes. UVa was 13-2 last season versus in-state opponents but is off to an 0-1 start this year following the Wednesday loss to Old Dominion.

Rotation Excelling Through First Month
The weekend rotation of Nathan Kirby, Connor Jones and Brandon Waddell has been strong, going 8-1 with a 1.05 ERA. The trio has allowed eight earned runs in 12 games. The threesome also is averaging 11.1 strikeouts per nine inning. UVa is 11-1 in their starts (the lone loss being UVa’s 1-0 defeat to Pitt last Saturday).

Thaiss Provides Thunder in UVa Lineup
Matt Thaiss has given the Cavaliers’ lineup a jolt of power in the first month of the season. The sophomore has blasted six home runs, which puts him in a tie for first nationally.

Thaiss hit his sixth homer in UVa’s 14th game of the season; last season it took Mike Papi 33 games to hit his sixth long ball and become the first Cavalier to reach six homers. Thaiss did not homer in 72 plate appearances during his 26 games (15 starts) last season.

Virginia Tech Tidbits
Virginia Tech holds a 7-9 record after dropping a 5-1 decision at William and Mary on Tuesday. The Hokies opened the ACC schedule by losing two of three games at Wake Forest last weekend. Erik Payne leads the team with a .333 batting average, while Alex Perez is batting .323. Brendon Hayden owns a team-high five homers and 15 RBI.

Up Next
Virginia returns home for four games next week. The Cavaliers face Towson at 4 p.m. Tuesday before playing host to No. 18 Florida State Friday through Sunday in a three-game series.