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Baseball
Virginia Squares off Against James Madison, Norfolk State in Midweek
Watch | Listen (WINA) | Live Stats | Baseball 2019 Game Notes
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia (19-13) will play at James Madison (18-15) on Tuesday (April 9) and returns home to host Norfolk State (11-17) on Wednesday (April 10). Both contests will start at 6 p.m.
GAME COVERAGE
Tuesday: The contest will air live on MadiZone HD Sportsnet, an online stream provided by the JMU athletics department. A link to the broadcast will be available on VirginiaSports.com
Wednesday: Against Norfolk State, the game will air on ACC Network Extra, available to authenticated subscribers of ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.
Both Games: The midweek contests can be heard live locally in Charlottesville on WINA 1070 AM/98.9 FM and anywhere on WINA.com. For links to all broadcasts and live stats, visit VirginiaSports.com. Fans can also receive in-game updates on the official Virginia Baseball Twitter feed (@UVABaseball).
TICKET INFORMATION
Tuesday: Tickets to the game at James Madison are: $10 general admission and $7 for seniors/children. There will be a walk-up window to make ticket purchases but it is suggested to order online at JMUSports.com to ensure a seat in the stadium.
Wednesday: 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.
Probable Pitching Matchups
Tuesday (April 9) – 6 p.m.
Virginia: RHP Evan Sperling (0-1, 6.92 ERA, 13.0 IP, 16 BB, 19 SO)
James Madison: RHP Justin Showalter (1-2, 3.86 ERA, 25.2 IP, 9 BB, 20 SO)
Wednesday (April 10) – 6 p.m.
Norfolk State: TBA
Virginia: TBA
Leading off
• Virginia will conclude a four-game road trip on Tuesday, the longest stretch away from Charlottesville this season. Wednesday’s game will commence a 10-game home stand with ACC series against Miami and Florida State.
• Tuesday will be the first of a home and home midweek series against James Madison. The Dukes will come to Charlottesville on April 24.
• The Cavaliers will take on Norfolk State for the first time since 2009. Virginia is 4-0 against the Spartans in Brian O’Connor’s tenure.
• Virginia owns a 4-2 mark against schools from the Commonwealth in 2019.
• Virginia is 25-6 at home and 43-8 overall against non-conference opponents over the past two seasons.
• When playing two non-conference opponents in the same week, Virginia is 4-0 this season. The Cavaliers have one more two-game midweek remaining, April 23rd and 24th when they host Liberty and James Madison, respectively.
Cavaliers Take Two
• Virginia won its second ACC of the series of the season by sweeping a road doubleheader on Saturday (April 6) at Notre Dame. It marked the first road ACC doubleheader sweep since 2016.
• Virginia erased a pair of three-run deficits in the twin bill to record its 11th and 12th come-from-behind wins of the season.
• In the nightcap, the Cavaliers held off the Fighting Irish thanks to a heads up play by Cameron Simmons in centerfield. Instead of throwing home with two outs on a single to centerfield, the senior fired the ball to second base to record the final out of the game, just before the tying run was able to cross the plate
• The Cavaliers dropped the opening game of an ACC series for the first time on Friday night, falling 5-2.
Double Time
• Sophomore Tanner Morris recorded three doubles in the three games at Notre Dame and upped his season total to 16, tied for the third most in the country and second-most in the ACC.
• He has put together seven-straight multi-hit games and is currently riding a career-high, nine-game hit streak.
• Morris has a team-best, 15 multi-hit efforts, including five three-hit games.
• Since moving to the leadoff spot he’s 18-for-39 (.426) with six doubles, a home run and eight RBI.
Double Duty
• Reliever Kyle Whitten saved both games of the Saturday doubleheader at Notre Dame, becoming the first UVA pitchers to close down both games of a doubleheader since Branden Kline in 2011 against Maryland. Kline is now in Triple-A with the Baltimore Orioles.
• Whitten leads the team with 17 appearances and is tied for second in the ACC with six saves. His five saves in ACC play are tops in the league and he has a pair of holds to his credit.
On the Mound
• Evan Sperling will make his third start of the season and first since Feb. 26.
• The right-hander is one of two pitchers on the Virginia staff with 100 career strikeouts.
• In four of Sperling’s five relief appearances since his last start he’s produced scoreless outings.
Team Superlatives
• Virginia has six players with 19 or more RBI, tied NC State for the most in the ACC.
• As a team Virginia has struck out a combined 208 times the fewest of any other ACC school.
• Coming midweek Virginia ranks third in fielding percentage (.977) and fourth in the ACC in batting average (.291)