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Baseball
Virginia Begins ACC Play Against Duke at Disharoon Park
Watch | Live Stats | Ticket Information | Clear Bag Policy | Saturday Parking Map | UVA Game Notes
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia (7-5) will kick off Atlantic Coast Conference play this weekend with a three-game series against Duke (9-4) at Disharoon Park. The series opener is slated for Saturday (March 9) at 1 p.m. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Sunday (March 10) beginning at noon.
GAME COVERAGE: The entire series will be broadcast live on ACC Network Extra which is available to authenticated subscribers of ESPN3 through WatchESPN and the ESPN app. Links every broadcast and live stats to each baseball game are available on VirginiaSports.com. Fans can also get in-game updates on the baseball the baseball official twitter page (@UVABaseball)
TICKETS INFORMATION
Fans can purchase tickets at a discounted rate in advance by going online to VirginiaSports.com/Tickets. For all regular season home games, available reserved single-game tickets can be purchased in advance for $8 online or via mobile devices. Tickets are $10 at the sport-specific ticket office on game day. General admission single-game tickets are $5 in advance and $8 at the sport-specific ticket office locations on game day.
Clear Bag Policy:
Consistent with policies that took effect last season, fans attending games at Disharoon Park in 2019 must adhere to the department’s clear bag policy and entrance procedures. Details of the of the policy can be found here: http://www.virginiasports.com/facilities/clear_bag_Davenport_Klockner.html
Saturday Parking: Due to the men’s basketball game taking place at John Paul Jones Arena at 4 p.m., parking for baseball will only be available in the Emmett/Ivy Garage.
Parking Map: https://virginiasports.com/documents/2019/3/7/3_9_19_Baseball_MBB_4_.pdf
Sunday Promotions: Sunday (March 10) will have themed promotions around the celebration of Super Mario Day. The first set of collectible UVA trading cards will be distributed to fans in attendance. There will be a postgame autograph session on the field and kids 12 and under can run the bases after the game.
Probable Pitching Matchups
Saturday, March 9 – 1 p.m.
Duke: Graeme Stinson (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 15.0 IP, 7 BB, 20 SO)
Virginia: Noah Murdock (0-1, 4.00, 18.0 IP, 4 BB, 16 SO)
Sunday, March 10 – Noon
Duke: Bryce Jarvis (1-0, 6.17 ERA, 11.2 IP, 8 BB, 20 SO)
Virginia: Griff McGarry (2-1, 3.60 ERA, 15.0 IP, 14 BB, 20 SO)
Sunday, March 10 – 1 p.m.
Duke: TBA
Virginia: RHP Mike Vasil (1-1, 3.77 ERA, 14.1 IP, 8 BB, 11 SO)
Leading Off
• Virginia has opened up ACC play against Duke in four of the last six seasons (2014, 2016, 2018, 2019).
• Under head Coach Brian O’Connor, the Cavaliers are 274-163-1 in ACC play. His 274 wins are the 8th most in league history and fifth most among active ACC coaches. His winning percentage (.627) in ACC play is the fifth-highest in league history.
• Virginia will conclude a season-high, 12-game home stand and is 7-2 at home this season.
• Duke comes into the series having lost three of its last four games after starting the season, 6-0
• The Blue Devils are receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll, are ranked No. 22 by both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball and come in at No. 25 in the NCBWA poll.
Noting the Series
• Virginia owns a 101-60-1 advantage in the all-time series that was first played in 1926.
• Virginia is 34-14 against Duke under Brian O’Connor (2004-present).
• The Blue Devils snapped a streak of nine-straight Virginia series wins last season, taking two out of three in Durham. Duke walked off with an 11-inning victory in game three, the nightcap of a Saturday doubleheader. Evan Sperling and Bennett Sousa combined to strikeout 21 batters in 11 innings, a single-game school record.
Offensive Outburst
• In the midweek, Virginia combined for 32 runs in two games against Wagner including a season-high 18 on Wednesday. The Cavaliers racked up 17 hits in each of the two victories, also season-highs.
• Virginia is currently ranked third in the ACC in batting with .297 team batting average.
• Sophomore Tanner Morris put together a career day on Monday, belting a pair of home runs and driving a career-best, six runs. He leads the team and is ranked fifth in the ACC with a .405 batting average. He has reached base safely in all 12 games this season.
• Cameron Simmons joined the long ball party on Wednesday by blasting his second home run of the season en route to a three-run, four-RBI day.
• Brendan Rivoli has proved to be one of the Cavaliers’ hottest hitters of late. Splitting time between outfield and designated hitter, Rivoli has a team-best seven multi-hit games, including a career best three hits on Wednesday against Wagner. He is currently second on the team and tied for seventh in the league in batting with a .391 average.
On the Mound
• Virginia is one of 10 teams in the country with three shutouts this season.
• Wagner snapped Virginia’s 23-inning opponent scoreless streak on Wednesday by plating a pair of unearned runs in the first inning. The streak included back-to-back shutouts of Seton Hall (3/2) and Wagner (3/4).
• The combination of Griff McGarry, Noah Murdock and Mike Vasil have been scheduled to pitch on each of the first three weekends of the series.
• McGarry, Saturday’s starter, has struck out 17 batters in his last two outings. Opponents are hitting .196 against him and he has surrendered only one extra base it in 15 innings pitched.
• Despite turning in two quality starts, Noah Murdock is in search of his first win of the season. He matched a career-best with seven innings pitched last weekend vs. Villanova.
• Reliever Chesdin Harrington leads the team with five appearances and has not allowed a run in his last seven innings pitched. He has fanned 10 batters in that stretch including a career-high seven against William & Mary on Feb. 26.
First Year Contributors
• After being pushed back a day because of weather, righthander Mike Vasil earned his first collegiate win in a 14-0 over Wagner on Monday. The freshman did not face more than four batters in an inning and went six innings, the longest of his three starts this season.
• The lead-off man in every game this season, third baseman Zack Gelof has scored five runs in the last two games. He is tied for the team-lead in RBI with 14 and has been successful in five of his six stolen base attempts. He and Morris have reached base in all 12 games this season.
• Nic Kent has more than doubled his batting average after getting the start in the last five games at second base. Against Wagner he was 5-for-8 with three runs scored and three RBI. In the finale on Wednesday he reached base four times, scored twice and drove in two runs.