No. 14 Virginia Closes Home Stand Tuesday Against VMI

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 14 Virginia (2-1) will wrap up a four-game home stand on Tuesday (Feb. 23) when it hosts VMI (0-0) at Disharoon Park. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on ACC Network.

Game Coverage: ACC network is available through participating TV providers. For more information on how to get ACC Network, visit GetACCN.com. In addition, the game can be heard locally in Charlottesville on WINA 98.9 FM/1070 AM and anywhere on WINA.com. Links for broadcasts and in-game live stats are available on VirginiaSports.com. Fans can also follow the Virginia baseball official twitter account (@UVABaseball) for in-game updates.

PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Tuesday – 3 p.m.         
VMI: LHP Nathan Light (1-1, 2.45 ERA, 14.2 IP, 8 BB, 16 SO)
Virginia: LHP Nate Savino (1-0, 3.38 ERA, 10.2 IP, 5 BB, 10 SO)

LEADING OFF

• The matchup between Virginia and VMI will be the 140^th in a series history that dates back to 1889, the first year of Cavalier baseball.
• Virginia comes into the game ranked No. 14 in the country according to last week’s USA Today Sports baseball coaches poll.
• Tuesday’s game will serve as the season opener for VMI after its weekend series vs. NC State was canceled. The Keydets will host NJIT at home this weekend.
• Tuesday will be the final tune-up before ACC play begins on Friday (Feb. 26) in Chapel Hill for the Cavaliers.

HISTORY VS THE KEYDETS

• The Cavaliers own a 107-32 advantage in the all-time series.
• Virginia has 100 wins over five schools – Maryland (113), North Carolina (112), VMI (107), Virginia Tech (103) and Duke (102),
• Virginia has won the last three meetings and nine of the last 12 games.
• Last season, the Cavaliers erased a 3-0 deficit by scoring four runs in the seventh inning in their home opener.
• VMI has served as the Cavaliers first midweek opponent every year since 2016.

ON THE HILL

• Sophomore lefty Nate Savino will make his first start of the 2021 season for Virginia.
• In his last appearance, he earned the victory in a series-clinching win over then-No. 7 NC State on March 8, 2020. In just his third collegiate start Savino pitched into the fifth inning and struck out two batters.
• Baseball America recently included Savino as the No. 55 player on its Top 150 College Players list.

NATIONALLY RANKED

• Most of the DI college baseball polls are set to be released on Tuesday, however in the latest Baseball America poll, Virginia is the No. 2 team in the country.
• Collegiate Baseball Newspaper also unveiled its first poll of 2021 and the Cavaliers went unchanged at No. 14
• New Top-25 rankings from USA Today, D1Baseball, NCBWA and Perfect Game are expected on Tuesday.

OPENING WEEKEND TIDBITS

• In three games decided by one or two runs, the Cavaliers took two out of three games against UConn this past weekend at Disharoon Park. The Huskies had been receiving votes in a number of college baseball polls.
• Including last season, Virginia has won five of  its last six, one-run games.
• The two wins on opening weekend for the Cavaliers were the first since 2017 when they won games against Liberty, The Citadel and Kansas in Charleston. The weekend sweep sparked a 10-game win streak to start the season.
• Virginia clinched the series on Sunday with a 4-2 victory thanks to a quality start from Mike Vasil (6 IP, 0 ER, 6 SO) and a pair of timely two-out hits from Brendan Rivoli and Logan Michaels. Along with Vasil, the Cavalier bullpen did not surrender an earned run and closer Stephen Schoch shut the door in the ninth with his second save of the weekend.
• Thanks to a pair of nine-strikeout starting pitching performances by Andrew Abbott and Griff McGarry over the weekend, Virginia finds itself atop the ACC with 41 strikeouts as a staff. The Cavaliers struck out 15 batters on Friday and Saturday while it fanned 11 in the series finale on Sunday
• Three Cavaliers made their collegiate debuts over the weekend – Jake Gelof, Jake Berry and Luke Schauer.

PLAYER NOTES

• Nic Kent had a hit in all three games over the weekend, including back-to-back two-hit performances on Saturday and Sunday. The Cavalier leadoff man has been successful in his last eight stolen base attempts.
• Five players – Kent, Logan Michaels, Alex Tappen, Zack Gelof and Marc Lebreux – reached base in all three games against UConn.
• Devin Ortiz was moved up to the fifth spot in the lineup on Sunday and delivered with his ninth career multi-hit effort.
• Dating back to last season, Marc Lebreux has reached successfully in 18-straight games. He had a hit in all three games over the weekend, including an RBI single on Sunday in the first inning to give UVA the lead.
• Zack Gelof, who collected four hits in three games and leads the team with three RBI, is three hits shy of 100 for his career.