Softball Hosts Boston College in ACC Action

March 9, 2017

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia (9-11, 1-2 ACC) will be home beginning Friday afternoon to host a three-game series against Boston College (13-10, 0-0 ACC) at The Park. The Friday doubleheader is slated for a 1 p.m. start and the series will conclude on Saturday with a single game scheduled for 1 p.m.

Schedule Change: Based on inclement weather in the forecast Saturday night into Sunday, both schools opted to play a doubleheader on Friday (March 10) beginning at 1 p.m. and a single game on Saturday (March 11) also beginning at 1 p.m. There will be no game on Sunday afternoon.

Coverage: All three contests will air on ACC Network Extra as originally scheduled, which is available to authenticated subscribers of ESPN3 through WatchESPN and the ESPN app. Live statistics for all three games are available on VirginiaSports.com.

Promotions: Regularly scheduled for Sundays throughout the season, kids can run the bases at the conclusion of Saturday’s game and the team will stick around for a postgame autograph session on the field. Friday will also mark the first installment of “Flashback Friday” at the Park. Fans can enjoy ’80s music throughout both games on Friday afternoon. Admission to all softball games at The Park is free.

Game Notes

Last Time Out: The Cavaliers are coming off a 5-2, non-conference loss at Radford on Wednesday. The single game was originally scheduled as a doubleheader on Tuesday but also altered due to weather. The Highlanders were able to score four runs in their final two trips to the plate to break a 1-1 tie. Virginia left eight runners on base and failed to capitalize on four Radford fielding errors.

Weather Problems: Last season, the series against Boston College was cancelled due to rainy and snowy conditions in Chestnut Hill, Mass. The two teams started the series opener on Saturday but were unable to finish the game either late Saturday or all day Sunday.

All-Time Series: Boston College owns a 15-12 advantage in the all-time series. The last Atlantic Coast Conference series between the two schools was in 2015 in which Virginia took two of three. Each team has recorded five wins in the last 10 games against one another.

ACC Play: The Eagles are one of five teams that didn’t open ACC play last weekend. Virginia on the other hand is one of four teams with a conference win after the first weekend. The Cavaliers fell in a rubber match to Virginia Tech last Sunday after splitting the first two games.

Late Game Offense: So far in the 2017 season, the Cavaliers have a knack for scoring late in the ball game. A total of 49 of the 99 runs this season have come across in the fifth inning or later. The Cavaliers have won five games in their final at bat including two in walk-off fashion.

Virginia is for Sluggers: Last weekend’s series with Virginia Tech pitted two of the top home run teams in the ACC. The two teams combined for 12 in three games. Going into this weekend Virginia Tech holds a slight 26-25 lead over Virginia in the ACC home run race. The Cavaliers rank 13^th in the country with 1.21 home runs per game.

Clean Sheets: The Virginia defense has produced back-to-back errorless games for the first time this season. The Cavaliers haven’t had a multi-error game since Feb. 25, a span of seven games.

Up Next: Virginia will stay in the commonwealth for a midweek doubleheader against James Madison next Wednesday (March 15).