Virginia Faces Longwood Tuesday, Liberty Wednesday

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April 20, 2015

VIRGINIA CAVALIERS (24-15, 9-12 ACC)
Probable Starting Pitcher
Tue. – Fr. RHP Derek Casey (3-1, 3.34 ERA)
Wed. – TBA

LONGWOOD LANCERS (17-20, 5-10 BSC)
Probable Starting Pitcher
Fr. LHP Michael Catlin (3-1, 4.44 ERA)

LIBERTY FLAMES (25-15, 11-4 BSC)
Probable Starting Pitcher
TBA

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia baseball team plays host to a pair of midweek games this week at Davenport Field, taking on Longwood Tuesday and Liberty Wednesday. Both games start at 6 p.m.

Broadcast Information
Live video broadcasts are available through a Cavaliers Live subscription on VirginiaSports.com. The video broadcasts and live stats also can be accessed through the Virginia Sports app, which is available through iTunes. A link to live statistics (GameTracker) also can be found on VirginiaSports.com.

WINA 1070-AM and WINA.com will carry the live radio broadcasts.

Promotions
Tuesday is a $2 Tuesday, with $2 ‘Hoo Dogs and $2 22-ounce Pepsi products available throughout the evening.

Cavaliers in the Polls
USA Today Coaches – 20

Odds and Ends
• UVa is No. 36 in the latest NCAA RPI for 2015 (Longwood is No. 173, Liberty is No. 40).
• Nine of Virginia’s 15 losses have come by two runs or fewer, including six by one run.
• Josh Sborz is tied for first in the ACC and eighth nationally with 11 saves this season.
• UVa ranks 18th nationally in hits allowed per nine innings (7.83).
• Robbie Coman was 7-for-12 (.583) in the Miami series and is 12-for-29 in the seven games taking a grounder to the face and missing the VMI game on April 8.
• UVa hit .301 in the Miami series against a Hurricane pitching staff that ranks third in the conference in ERA.

Offense Continues Upswing
Since being shut out on two hits on March 24 against Georgetown, Virginia’s offense has batted .298 and averaged 5.7 runs and 10.3 hits per game over the last 17 games, a streak which started in UVa’s March 25 game at Liberty. The Cavaliers have recorded at least 10 hits in 12 of the 17 contests. This stretch came while facing – by ERA – the best three pitching staffs in the ACC: Louisville, Notre Dame and Miami, all of whom rank among the top 35 teams nationally in ERA.

In the first 22 games of the season, UVa batted .256 and averaged five runs and 8.8 hits per game.

Virginia-Longwood Series
The Lancers and Cavaliers have met 13 times previously, with Virginia leading the series 11-2. UVa has won seven straight games against Longwood, dating to an April 9, 1984, setback. Their most recent meeting was March 26, 2014, a game that Virginia won, 8-1. UVa starter Alec Bettinger worked five shutout innings in the win.

Noting Longwood
Longwood comes to Charlottesville after dropping two of three games in its home series with Liberty last weekend. Connar Bastaich leads the team in batting at .322, while the Lancers are hitting .267 as a team. Longwood is one of the most prolific base stealing teams in the nation and ranks 19th nationally with 65 stolen bases. The Lancers also own a 5.15 team ERA.

Virginia-Liberty Series
Virginia leads the all time series, 32-20-1, and has won 12 of its last 13 games against the Cavaliers. Liberty last defeated the Cavaliers on Feb. 28, 2012 at Davenport Field. The Flames and Cavaliers already have met this season, a game won by Virginia, 10-7, on March 25 in Lynchburg. Virginia piled up 15 hits in the contest, as Kenny Towns had a pair of hits and four RBI. Liberty’s Alex Close racked up three hits.

Noting Liberty
Coming off its series win at Longwood, Liberty now has won nine of its last 10 Big South Conference series and is tied for second in the Big South standings with Coastal Carolina. Alex Close leads the team in batting (.335) and RBI (33), while Becker Sankey has hit a team-leading 11 home runs. Liberty is batting .265 as a team and has a 3.65 team ERA.

Up Next
Virginia travels to NC State Friday through Sunday for a three-game ACC series and heads to Norfolk, Va., next Tuesday (April 28) to play Old Dominion at Harbor Park. The Cavaliers then will be off for final exams until May 8.