Virginia Hosts Syracuse in ACC Action

March 15, 2018

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia (8-17, 0-3 ACC) plays host to Syracuse (13-7, 2-1 ACC) in the second weekend of Atlantic Coast Conference action.

The Cavaliers and Orange will open the series on Friday night in a 6 p.m. bout at The Park. All three games of the series will be carried on ACC Network Extra. Links to the broadcasts and live stats for each game are available on VirginiaSports.com.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE

Friday, March 16 – 6 p.m. – Flashback Friday 80’s Edition | Sabre Rewards Night

Saturday, March 17 – 1 p.m.

Sunday, March 18 – Noon – Girl Scouts Day | Kids Run the Bases | Postgame Autographs

GIRL SCOUTS DAY

The series finale is also Girl Scouts Day at The Park. All Girl Scouts in attendance will be invited to stand on the field during pregame festivities and take part in a special postgame talk with the Cavaliers.

In addition, kids are also invited to run the bases following the game and take part in an autograph session with the Hoos, weather permitting.

LEADING OFF

• After its midweek contest with Liberty was postponed, Virginia welcomes Syracuse to The Park for a three-game series this weekend.
• The Hoos are aiming to snap a six-game losing streak.
• Virginia led in all three games last weekend against Georgia Tech, but fifth inning struggles helped the Yellow Jackets sweep the series.
• Two Cavaliers hit over .500 on the weekend, with Allison Davis (Oak Hill, Va.) continuing her scorching run with a 9-of-12 performance and Hayley Busby (Phoenix, Ariz.) going 7-for-12.
• Virginia ranks fourth in the ACC at the plate with a .282 average and is third in slugging at .464. The Hoos rank 12th in the circle, however, with a 5.47 ERA.
• Syracuse enters the weekend at 13-7 and 2-1 in ACC play after the Orange took the series at Virginia Tech last weekend.

HOOS vs. ORANGE

• Virginia and Syracuse have met just 12 times, all coming within the last seven years.
• The Orange lead the all-time series with a 10-2 mark.
• Virginia is 2-6 in games played at The Park against the Orange.
• The two last met in 2016, when Syracuse rallied from a series-opening loss to take the final two games at The Park.
• Syracuse has scored 10 or more runs in six of the 12 meetings.
• The Hoos have never won a series against Syracuse in four tries.

SHORT HOPS

• Allison Davis now leads the ACC in slugging (.905), home runs (9), hits (39), runs scored (28) and total bases (76). She also sits second in average, on-base percentage, RBI and doubles.
• In 15 games since adding a chinstrap to her helmet, Busby is hitting .442 (23-of-52) with 14 RBI. In the 10 games prior, she hit just .138 with 1 RBI.
• Walks once again proved problematic over the weekend as the Hoos issued 24 free passes. 10 of those came home to score for Georgia Tech.
• In the eight wins, UVA’s team ERA is 1.40 this season with 37 walks. In losses, the Hoos’ ERA is 7.40 with 92 walks.
• Allison Davis has already matched a career high with nine home runs this season and is four shy of tying the program record.

UP NEXT

The weekend series concludes the home stand for Virginia. The Cavaliers head to Towson next Wednesday (March 21) before traveling to Boston College over the following weekend.